How to find Silver
by Justagoodguy
Summary: Soifon suffered great trauma in the war against Azien. Not even Captain Unohana can heal these wounds, but maybe you don't need to be a captain in order to help. Set immediately after the Arrancar arc. Spoilers.  Hanataro x Soifon, plus hints of others.
1. Chapter 1: The Runaround

How to Find Silver

Bleach and all its characters are the property of Tite Kubo. Other characters belong to me.

The story begins with Hanataro unwillingly accepts a simple request, which leads to him being involved with events that will change his life forever… Well. This sounds interesting.

Soifon x Hanataro as well as others

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><p>Chapter 1: The Runaround<p>

The sound of the broom going back and forth was all that could be heard in the Squad Four barracks. Hanataro didn't mind sweeping, rather he quite enjoyed it. The gentle sound of the broom as it traveled back and forth, the time to just think, and the way it got everything so… _clean_. No, sweeping wasn't a problem, the problem was that it was not his job, it was Ogida's.

Hanataro had just finished his shift and was preparing to head home, when Ogida Harunobu, Eighth seat of the Fourth Division, came up to him. Ogida brushed his short, wavy brown hair out of his eyes and started talking, "Hey, Hana, how's it going? Listen, I'm supposed to do the evening cleaning tonight, but I have a date tonight, and I have to rush if I want to be ready in time. So, I was wondering if you, kind and compassionate superior that you are, would be willing to take my shift?"

"Um…"

"That's great," Ogida said, handing Hanataro a broom, "Thanks, I'll cover for you some other time in return. See ya!"

"W-wait! That's not…" Hanataro began as the taller man started to walk away.

"Oh, you want to know who the girl is?" Ogida asked, without stopping, "I'm not sure; I do remember she's from Third Squad though. She's not a seated officer or anything, but she sure is cute. Well, see you around." With that he was gone, leaving Hanataro alone with the broom.

"_Sigh_. Oh, well might as get started." Hana said, wondering how this happened to him. "He doesn't even remember the girl's name? Well, with as many admirers as he has, I guess it's not that unusual."

As he spoke, softly but out loud, he began to sweep the floor. The familiar sound of the broom scraping the floor soothed him. "It must be nice to be popular. Ogida has twenty girls chasing him at a time, but I wonder what it would be like to have one girlfriend… No, that'll never happen, where would I find a girl who would be interested in someone li-. " His thoughts were cut short when a foot suddenly impacted with the side of his head, knocking him to the ground, "Did someone just run me over?" he thought as he went down, actually very used to this sort of thing.

"Out of my way!" Soifon, Captain of Squad Two of the Thirteen Court Guard and leader of the Stealth Force, yelled at him, as she charged down the hallway.

Hanataro struggled to stand up. "Shouldn't you say that before you run the pers-." His thoughts were interrupted when Marechiyo Omeada, Soifon's lieutenant, came barreling through the hallway, showing no more concern for anyone standing in his way than his captain had.

"Captain!" he yelled, sweat dripping from his heavy features as he struggled to catch up to his captain "What about your arm? Captain Unohana isn't done with today's treatment yet!"

His Captain ignored him however, she merely continued rushing down the hall. Hanataro tried to push himself up again, but his efforts were halted when even more people came sprinting down the hall, this time several members of the stealth force, in swift pursuit of their superiors. "Captain! Lieutenant!" they cried, as they bounded down the passageway.

Hanataro started to wonder if he should even bother to stand at this point. His question was quickly answered in the form of the Fourth Squad's own Third seat, Yasochika Iemura, and a fairly large group of very concerned nurses and orderlies charging after the members of Squad Two. Without breaking stride, the blond man pushed his glasses up his slim nose, "If Captain Soifon thinks she can avoid treatment at our barracks simply by running away, she has another think coming! Right, Men?" He asked, still running at top speed. He was rewarded by various calls of encouragement.

"Yes, Sir!"

"That's the way, Iemura, Sir!"

"But most of us are women!" Iemura simply ignored this last one.

Hanataro was actually quite relieved; he no longer had to worry about whether he should get up or not. He couldn't do it if he tried.

**XX**

Omeada was now running directly behind his captain, leaping through the Seireitei on their way to the Western Gate. "Captain, don't you think we should have waited for Captain Unohana? She had wanted to do another exam on your arm before she and Captain Kurotsuchi began treatment to restore it" Soifon motioned to her lieutenant with her remaining right arm, He came even closer to her, "What is it Capta- ack!" He was cut off when Soifon smacked him in the face. Omeada clutched his hands to his face, but he did not lessen his pace. Soifon found this mildly impressive, though she would never admit it.

She glanced at stump on her left side, a last grim reminder of her battle against the Second Espada, Baraggan Louisenbairn. She gritted her teeth in disgust at the memory, "Shut up, Omeada! There's been an arrancar sighting in West Rukongai. I don't know if it's some of Aizen's left overs or something else entirely, and I don't care we're going there to either eliminate or capture the threat. Now, hurry up before I leave you behind." With that her pace quickened. Then her vision began to cloud, and she stumbled slightly. She tried to press forward, but the next thing she knew, the world seemed to spin around her, and then she lost her balance completely and fell from the sky.

**XX**

Back at the Fourth Division, Isane Kotetsu, who had just finished taking care of a patient in a nearby room, walked out into the hallway, "What was that noise about before?" she wondered as she stepped forward. She looked down when her foot suddenly came into contact with something. "What did I step o- Eek!"

"Why, hello, Lieutenant, fancy meeting you here." Hanataro laughed shakily, "Um, if it's not too much trouble could you possibly lend me a hand?"

**XX**

Omeada had been struggling to keep up, and in doing so he had taken his eyes off of the captain, when he looked up she was gone. He stopped in midair, looking around frantically. "Did she really leave me behind?" he wondered, starting to panic a little, "But I was going as fast as I could!" He cried, wondering how he would ever find her. What if she encountered the arrancar and was injured? Omeada did not truly believe that this would happen, he knew his captain too well. The battle against Baraggan had shaken him, however, he couldn't help but worry.

Even after Aizen's defeat, things had yet to return to normal. There had been many Arrancars and lesser hollows that had begun to appear in droves, as if to fill the vacuum left after Aizen was imprisoned. It had been less than a week since the battle at Karakura town, and Squad Two had gone on a mission to battle an Arrancar or high class hollow almost every day, all the squads have. Soifon, however, had been pushing herself especially hard, far harder than she needed. She insisted on going on every single mission assigned to Squad Two, instead of just letting her officers handle it. She even started going on mission assigned to other squads. She always found some excuses to miss any appointment Unohana made with her, whether it was mission like today, or simply hiding behind paperwork.

Omeada was worried, he knew she hadn't been sleeping well the past few days. Now he had lost her completely. "Oooh! What am I gonna do?" he mumbled frantically, looking all around him. He was just about to summon the entire stealth force and have them tear the Seireitei apart looking for her, when he heard someone call out to him.

"Hey! You can relax, Big Man. I've got her." Omeada turned toward the Voice and saw her, standing on a building below. He recognized the woman holding Soifon. It was impossible to mistake those yellow eyes, that dark, tanned skin and that long purple hair. Yoruichi Shihoin grinned at the overweight lieutenant, "So, how's it going, Marechiyo?"

Soifon looked around, more than a little surprised about her current situation. "Lady Yoruichi?" She asked, blushing furiously. Partially because the of sudden appearance of her mentor and idol, but also because Yoruichi was holding her in much the same way a groom would hold his bride as he carried her over the threshold of their new home.

Omeada looked at the two of them, _she looks kinda __cute__ when she blushes like that,_ he thought to himself, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink as well. He wouldn't say that out loud though, he may be bumbling and arrogant at times but he was never suicidal. He went down to the building where the two women were.

While Omeada approached, Yoruichi had been looking at Soifon seriously, "You know, she looks pretty cute when she blushes like that. Don't you think, Marechiyo?" She asked an evil grin on her face.

Both Soifon and Omeada blushed even brighter at this, Soifon from embarrassment due to the compliment, and Omeada due to panic, _what are you trying to do to me, Woman?_ He screamed in his mind. Out loud he asked, "W-what are you doing here, Lady Yoruichi?"

"Oh, just this and that, you know," she said nonchalantly, "Actually, I'm here because Retsu sent me a letter. I figured I should come check it out right away." She turned, jumped off the building, and began walking, still carrying Soifon.

Soifon looked around a little confused, and then she realized that they were heading back the way they had come. She began to protest, "Lady Yoruichi, what are you doing…" She trailed off when Yoruichi gave her a stern look.

"Listen, Soifon, I know you, for you to stumble like that, something must be wrong. So, I'm just going to take you to the Fourth Division so they can have a look at you. Is that okay?"

"But the arrancar. We were on a mission, we have to-"

Yoruichi stopped, and placed Soifon on her feet. The young woman could not help but feel nervous as her mentor stared into her eyes. "Soifon, Squad Six is already there, they've already scared it off, so there'd be no reason for you to go. Renji Abarai is with them, just leave the rest to him." She ran her fingers through Soifon's hair, smiling at this girl who was so much like a daughter to her, "You need some rest, so, please go back to the Fourth Division… for me?"

Soifon hesitated for a moment and then she gave in, "For you, Lady Yoruichi, anything," she said, and then squeaked in surprise as Yoruichi lifted her up again.

"Well, alrighty then!" Yoruichi said, amidst new cries of protest from the younger woman. "Let's go." Omeada was beginning to wonder if he could go get a bag of fried rice cakes, and began to edge off to do just that, when he heard Yoruichi snap, "Marechiyo, hurry up! Sheesh, you're as bad as your father."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, as he followed them he mumbled under his breath, "Back when he was her lieutenant, did Dad really have to put up with this all the time?"

"Not after he learned to follow orders, he didn't." Yoruichi called back to him.

He didn't even bother to wonder how she had heard him, he just followed.

**XX**

Renji looked around, pleased that things had gone so well. There had been no fatalities, and injuries and property damage were at a minimum. When the Sixth arrived on the scene, Renji immediately went to confront the arrancar, but he didn't get close. As soon as she saw them she opened a Garganta, a black portal to another world, releasing half a dozen hollows into the Rukongai. These were weak hollows, however, possibly newly formed, and he and his men defeated them with no trouble. When Renji went to confront the arrancar, she was already gone. He put his zanpakuto away, and started instructing his men to take care of any injured, as well as start on damage control.

_It's weird though,_ he thought as he sent the last few soul reapers to scout the area; _she invades Rukongai just to run away? And what was up with her spiritual pressure? It was… strange, not powerful, like most of the arrancars I've faced, but still I've never felt anything like it before._ He went to supervise the cleanup, when he realized something. There were the three guys he had ordered to help the injured and help clean up any extensive damage, and the two he had sent to scout, but he had brought six soul reapers with him. Who was missing? _Ah, yeah, it's that new guy who just transferred from the Twelfth Division. What was his name? Right, Kazuki Koga, that's it. Where the heck did that guy go?_

_**XX**_

Koga was hurrying to the north, the direction the arrancar had fled in. As soon as he saw the Garganta open, he put all his attention on the arrancar to see what she would do. She was fast though, so he nearly missed her any way. Due to the amount of study into the spiritual pressure habits of arrancars he had done back in Twelfth, however, he was ready when she suddenly vanished. He was able to follow her spiritual pressure and keep up with her. Among the unseated soul reapers, Koga was one of the few outside of Squad Two who could use flash-step, a special method of movement that soul reapers used to get around quickly.

He had learned it during the time he had been part of the stealth force, a long time ago. He knew he didn't look very didn't look stealthy: standing at just over six feet tall with a heavy, muscular body, that made him look more like an ape than a soul reaper; and short, black hair, which was the most normal thing about his appearance. That was part of the reason he had left. The other part was because they threw him out for insubordination.

It wasn't the first time he had been transferred and it wasn't the last, and his station in Squad Six probably wouldn't last long either. Not unless he did something big to earn some points and that was just what this arrancar would do for him.

He stopped when he reached a string of abandoned buildings near edge of the Rukongai. He had lost the arrancar's trail, but he calmly focused on sensing her spiritual pressure. He found it and swiftly turned to his right, pointing at a small shed, preparing a Kido, "Hado #4: Byakurai!" He yelled, and a bolt of lightning shot from his finger tip, demolishing the shed. He watched as the arrancar leapt from the wreckage, he prepared to draw his Zanpakuto.

She looked at him with cold, almost emotionless eyes, no anger or fear, there was something in those eyes, but Koga could not put a name to it. She was tall, slender and quite attractive. The remains of her mask, that differs from arrancar to arrancar, was a thin strip of bone that started just over her left and trailed diagonally down her face, stopping under her right cheekbone. Instead of attacking she stared at him for several minutes before speaking, "I'm surprised anyone managed to find me. Tell me; what is your name, Soul Reaper? What Squad do you belong to, and what is your seat?" She didn't seem concerned about facing him, which he found very annoying. She hadn't even reached for her Zanpakuto yet, she just left it strapped to her left leg, the spilt in her skirt giving her easy access to it.

He smirked, if she wanted to play, he figured he might as well play along, and he took his hand away from his sword hilt before responding, "You ask a lot of questions, don't ya, Lady? My name is Kazuki Koga, currently with the Sixth, seat: none. Don't worry none, Worm-bait, the only reason I'm not a lieutenant right now is because of a few 'personality issues.' Namely, because they're scared of me, and with good reason too. Once I bring back your head, though, they'll have no choice but to promote me."

She looked at him for a few moments longer before grasping the hilt of her Zanpakuto, "Yes," she said, "you'll do quite nicely." With that she drew her sword, and Koga rushed to draw his own. As her sword left it's sheath, she calmly spoke again, "Open his eyes, Angelicia." There was bright flash as she transformed, into a state the arrancars referred to as Resurreccion, in which she would assume her true form and power.

Koga couldn't hide his surprise, he had been a soul reaper for some time, but he had never seen anything like this.

**XX**

Things had finally settled down at Fourth Division, as Yoruichi walked around the hallways, looking for Captain Unohana, still carrying Soifon in her arms. She bumped into Isane, and for the first time noticed that Soifon had fallen asleep again. So Isane led them to empty room, where Soifon could rest. Leaving Omeada to keep an eye on her, Isane led Yoruichi to Unohana. They stopped in front of a room, and Isane knocked, "Captain Unohana? Lady Yoruichi is here to see you," she announced and waited for a response.

After a brief moment, a soft voice came from within the room, "Yes, come in. You're here earlier than I expected, actually." The two women slid the door open and entered to find a beautiful woman kneeling next to a young man who was asleep on a pallet. The dark haired woman stood up, a serene smile on her face as she approached the former captain, "Hello, Yoruichi, I'm glad you could come. How's Kisuke?"

"Oh, not too bad, considering he's been trapped in a force field for the past for the past week. I'll explain later," she said, waving her hand dismissively, then she noticed the person sleeping on the pallet, "Hey, isn't that the guy who helped Ichigo when we broke into the Seireitei way back when. What's his name, uh…? Hana… something. What's he doing in the infirmary?" Normally, Fourth Squad members treated patients, they didn't usually end up as patients themselves.

"Hanataro, ma'am," Isane said as she stepped forward to provide an answer to Yoruichi's question, "He passed out earlier, nothing to severe. He was sweeping the halls when it happened. It's strange though, it isn't his turn to sweep the barracks tonight, it's supposed to be Eighth Seat Ogida. I couldn't find him to ask him why Hanataro was doing it, and when I asked Hanataro all he said was something about 'stampeding ninjas' but I'm not sure what he meant. So we put him in here so he could recover."

Hearing this Yoruichi stifled a laugh, she thought she might have a pretty good idea about who was leading those 'stampeding ninjas', but she decided not to say anything now. Unohana gave her a curious look but didn't say anything.

Unohana walked to the door, and turned to her lieutenant, "Isane, Yoruichi and I have a lot to discuss, would you check on Hanataro from time to time?" After Isane nodded, Unohana led Yoruichi away to her office.

Shortly after they left Hanataro began to stir. Isane knelt by his side, "Hanataro?" She asked a look of concern on her face.

Suddenly he sat bolt upright screaming, "No, not the sponge bath!" He stopped and looked around, and then he turned to Isane, "Oh, Lieutenant Kotetsu, is something the matter? What happened? The last thing I remember I was sweeping up the hallway when Captain Soifon and several other people suddenly ran me over."

"Captain Soifon and several other people?" Isane asked not entirely sure she had heard him right.

"Yeah, first was Lieutenant Omeada, then some people from the stealth force, and then one more pretty big group, I don't know who was in it though, I was pretty out of it by that time." He said calmly, as if talking about being run over was the most natural thing in the world. "I'm okay now though, you get used to this kind of thing after a while." He said matter-of-factly.

_How can someone possibly get used to something like that?_ She wondered to herself, out loud she said, "Um, that may be, but I would prefer it if you just stay here for the night, will that be okay?"

"Uh, I guess so, thank you, Lieutenant, and good night."

She got up and started to leave, when she got to door, she turned around and smiled slightly, "Good night, Hanataro, rest well," she said before she shut the door and left.

**XX**

Yoruichi and Unohana had just arrived at the Captain's office, as they entered, Unohana asked as she led her old friend into her private quarters, "Would you care for some tea, Yoruichi?" She was already arranging cups on a tray as she spoke.

"C'mon, Retsu, you know me better than that," Yoruichi said, grinning. Her grin got even wider as Unohana returned with the tray, a few small cups on it as well as a bottle of sake. "Much better, now we can get down to business. I'm going to guess that you didn't ask me here just to share a drink, huh?" She asked already taking a sip of the sake.

Unohana finished preparing the tea, and sat down at the small table in the middle of the room, "Yes, It's about Soifon. She hasn't been sleeping well, she refuses to come see me about her arm, and I'm just afraid that she's going burn herself out," she said, shaking her head slightly before taking a small sip of her tea.

Yoruichi looked at her seriously, "She may be closer to that then you think," she said quietly, which caused the other woman to raise an eyebrow inquisitively. Yoruichi continued, "I ran into her while she was on her way to that arrancar incident, when she lost her balance in the middle of a flash-step and fell. If I hadn't been near enough to catch, I'm not sure what would've happened," she took another sip of sake from her cup and refilled it before continuing. "I managed to talk her into coming here, but on the way back she fell asleep. She's asleep in one of the rooms right now. I have Marechiyo keeping an eye on her, not that he could stop her if she wanted to leave, but at least he could come warn me about it."

Yoruichi sighed and stood up, walking over to the window still holding her cup and the bottle of sake, she took another sip before continuing, "It's because of the fight she had in the fake Karakura town. I managed to get Marechiyo to tell me about it since Soifon wouldn't say a word. It sounds like she had a rough time," she shook her head, and though her cup was empty, she didn't pour herself another drink. She leaned against the windowsill, looking out Fourth Division's garden courtyard, admiring it's simple beauty, "I guess I can understand why she's so upset about it: she gave that Baraggan guy her best shot, twice, and she still couldn't finish him. I know she believes she is enough of a professional that something like that shouldn't bother her. What she doesn't get is that there would be something wrong with her if it didn't!" Yoruichi sighed again, "She won't even talk about it. I just don't know what to do anymore." Yoruichi shook her head as she finally poured herself another drink. "She's just so stubborn; I just wish I knew where she learned it from." She heard a small sound behind her. With a wry smile on her face, she turned her head to look at Unohana, "You know, Retsu, if I didn't know you better I would say you just snorted at me."

Unohana sipped her tea, her face perfectly straight, "Why, of course I have no idea what you're talking about, Dear," she smiled at her friend and the feeling of gloom that had gathered as Yoruichi had been speaking suddenly began to dissipate, "I know you're worried, but all you can do is wait until she's ready to talk, either to you or someone else. Until then all you can do is be there for her," as she said this Unohana poured another glass of tea for herself.

Still looking out the window, Yoruichi slowly nodded her head; she half turned then and said, "Yeah, you're right. Say I've been wondering, what's up with that kid in the infirmary. He's your Seventh seat isn't he, so what he doing taking orders from an Eighth Seat?"

Unohana pondered this question carefully before answering, "It's not that Yamada was ordered, he just didn't say no. He has the kindest heart of almost anyone I've ever met. He is also very naïve, however, and he has no self-confidence, he either let's people talk him into doing his chores for them or they simply bully him into it." She paused for a moment, deep in thought. Yoruichi took this chance to interrupt.

"Wait, did you say Yamada? Wasn't that the name of your old Lieutenant? Are they related somehow?" When she saw Unohana nod, Yoruichi continued, "Well, if that's the case the kid must have some potential."

Unohana smiled softly, "I like to think so. Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends were a good influence on him, and he's improved a good deal since then on his own, but he still has trouble from time to time. He just needs more confidence." She trailed off again, once more deep in thought.

Yoruichi smiled slightly as she turned back to the window as she digested what Unohana had just said, "Confidence, huh? Soifon has that in spades, sometimes I think she has too much of it. What she could really use is some of that boy's kindness, especially now," she stopped, her eyes growing wide as she turned what she had just said over in her mind. "Yes," she said slowly, her smile back now, "we just might have something here," Her smile was even bigger now. She turned back to Unohana with a look that could only be described as an evil grin, "Hey, Retsu, Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Unohana was taking a sip of tea, the smile on her face, though subtle, anyone who knew her could tell you that smile was among the ten most frightening things to ever appear in the Seireitei, others being some of Kurotsuchi's experiments, or this one time Captain Kyoraku actually managed to get Nanao drunk, but no one is allowed to talk about that last one, "Perhaps," was all she said.

"Oh, this is going to be interesting!" Yoruichi cackled.

**XX**

In his room Hanataro felt a sudden chill though he couldn't explain why.

* * *

><p><strong>Preview<strong>

Author: Whew! Finally done.

Ichigo: What do you mean 'Finally'? It's only been about three days.

Author: Exactly!

Ichigo: *sigh* whatever. Isn't this supposed to be when you talk about next time?

Author: phff! Like that ever happens! Besides, we're out of time!

Ichigo: Oh, come on!

* * *

><p><strong>Non-Illustrated Guide to Soul-Reapers… Golden!<strong>

Isane walked down the hall to Unohana's office, planning to make one last report to her captain and go to bed. She went to the door, slid it open, saying as she did so, "Captain, everything has settle down for the night, so I'll be going…" She trailed off when saw what was happening inside: there was Yoruichi, laughing like a lunatic, and over by the table Isane's own captain, sitting in the traditional style she always used, sipping tea, but on the older woman's face was that smile. After just a brief moment, Isane quietly shut the door and headed to her room, doing everything she could to drive the scene from her memory.

* * *

><p>To be continued<p>

That's all for now, actually this was supposed to be pretty short, I'm not real sure what happened. Here's my very first fan fic, I hope this is something you all remember fondly. I know that this isn't perfect, but when you review, feel free to leave suggestions on how I can improve. I don't know when I'll update, it depends on how motivated I get, hint hint, (Points at the Review button) *cough* well, anyway…

Hope you had fun, I did, and I'll see you next time.

Sincerely,

Justagoodguy, aspiring author.

PS, I had wanted to go with Brilliant Idiot for my penname, but it was already taken. Ah, crud muffins.


	2. Chapter 2: Making Arrangements

How to find Silver

Bleach and all its characters are the property of Tite Kubo. Other characters belong to me.

Unohana and Yoruichi set their plan into motion, what does this mean for Hanataro and Soifon?

Hanataro x Soifon as well as others

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Making Arrangements<p>

The sun had just begun to rise in the Soul Society, and the many soul reaper squads were beginning to start their day. In Squad Four, however, the day starts long before the sun comes up. The Fourth Division not only functioned as a hospital for any soul reapers who were wounded in battle, but it's members also worked hard every day to make sure the Seireitei remained clean and running smoothly. Almost everyone would say that the Fourth was easily one of the hardest working Squads in the entire Soul Society, and they would be right, especially now.

There had been a huge number of hollow attacks on the Soul Society since Aizen's defeat by Ichigo Kurosaki, an event that the soul reapers had begun to refer to as the Shadow of Aizen. Even without the former captain's influence there seemed to be a never ending supply of powerful hollows as well as the even more dangerous arrancars to wreak havoc on the . In response, almost every squad of the Thirteen Court Guard had been in at least one major battle, some had been in several. There had been many injuries but no fatalities as of yet, fortunately, but no one expected that to last.

"That is where we, the Fourth Division, come in," Iemura, the Squad's Third Seat, explained. Iemura was not in the best of condition today, he and several others had spent the whole night trying to find Captain Soifon, only to discover she had been in the Fourth Squad infirmary the entire time. It was not something he liked to dwell on, so continued with his explanation, "Healing the wounded is our duty, it is what we're good at. We must not waver, for the fate of the Seireitei rests in our hands." He was so absorbed in his speech that he did not notice when someone came up behind him.

"Writing in your diary again, huh, Iemura?" Ogida said, leaning right up to his superior, looking over the taller man's shoulder. His sudden appearance was enough to cause Iemura start in surprise. Enjoying the results of his teasing, Ogida continued, "You know, diaries are a lot more effective at keeping secrets when you don't read them aloud as you write in them."

"Ogidaaaa," Iemura said threateningly, as he began to slide his sword from its sheath, "I was merely refreshing our situation in my mind, do you have a problem with that?"

Ogida started to back away, holding his hands up to try and placate the Third Seat, "Of course not, Sir. I was just trying to say… Uh, hey! Where's Hana? He's usually in by now, so what? Did he get lost again, or maybe kidnapped? He's gonna end up making a habit of that, believe me."

Neither man noticed Isane come up behind them and they both jumped visibly when she spoke, "Actually I wanted to talk to you about, Ogida." She paused as the two men, both shorter than she, saluted, and then she went on, "There was a small disturbance yesterday evening, and Hanataro was injured. Apparently he was taking over the evening clean-up shift in your place when it happened, so I was wondering if you could explain why he was there and not you." Her tone, however, told him that she knew exactly why he was not there last night.

So instead of answering her question, Ogida asked one of his own, "What kind of disturbance? I mean, who would cause in a hospital? There weren't any Squad Eleven people in here last night, so who else would cause trouble around here?"

He was a little surprised when she answered him, "Well…" she began.

**OO**

Omeada was having a pretty good dream, there was a giant feast before him, with a huge lake of gravy and mountain sized bowls of rice, and a turkey the size of a Gillian. He was just about to dive in when something woke him quite suddenly. It was his captain, Soifon, tossing and turning in her sleep. She was mumbling something that the chubby lieutenant couldn't make out. It was pretty obvious to him, however, that whatever it was, it was not pleasant. Seeing his captain in trouble, Omeada rushed forward without thinking, not the brightest idea when dealing with a sleeping assassin. He leapt to her side and started to shake her gently, yelling loudly, "Captain! Wake up, wake u-wagh!"

Soifon's assassin training kicked in as soon as he had touched her, her hand shot out, slamming into the large man's chin with enough force to send him crashing backwards. She blinked a little surprised to see him there, but in a way she was grateful. Because of his antics, the dream she had just woken up from was almost completely cleared from her mind. That same dream that she had been having almost every night since she had had that battle with… she shook her head not daring to dwell on it. It was at this moment that she realized that she was not in her usual clothes, and in their place was only a simple gown. "Omeada, where is my uniform and my captain's cloak?" she asked in her usual no nonsense tone.

"Uh, a nurse came in last night, and she said that she would wash them for you. You must have been very tired, 'cause you didn't even twitch while she changed you into that gown."

At this Soifon eyes became sharp, and she turned her gaze directly on Omeada, "Are you saying you watched?" She asked calmly, too calmly.

"Oh, no, no, no!" he said starting to panic slightly. "I was standing outside the whole time, but the nurse told me you didn't seem to respond at all."

She looked at him a little longer, but decided to simply let it go, and let out a long sigh, "Fine. We have a lot of work to do today. Now go and find my clothes."

He nodded, "Yes, ma'am!" he said, and headed off to carry out her orders.

**OO**

Hanataro had slept very well last night, and now he was ready to get back to work. He looked at a chart that Iemura had set up that showed what jobs everyone had, depending upon which of the various relief squads they were assigned to. _Let's see… today, I'm supposed to help with the laundry. Well, off I go._ He thought cheerfully. Last night had passed without incident. In fact, he had fallen asleep almost as soon as Isane had left him alone in the room. Now the dark haired man was full of energy and ready to go about his day. Hanataro set out, and while he noticed that there were already a large number of people coming into infirmary, mostly from Squad Eleven. Hanataro smiled slightly and shook his head, "The only time they get up early is when they know they can get a fight. This is pushing it even for them, though," Hanataro said to himself quietly. "Oh! I'd better hurry. I've already slept later than I usually do, so I'll have to work extra hard to make up for it." With that he hurried back on his way.

Hanataro arrived at the laundry area shortly after that. He began to wander around for a bit before calling out, "Hello? Is anyone here? I'll be working here today." It was hard to find his way around the place due to the huge piles of clothes littered all around the large room, taking care of all of the laundry in the Seireitei was yet another duty assigned directly to the Fourth Division. In the back of the room were a number of large white machines, which had been recently been created by Research and Development to help the Fourth with their large work load. The machines were called 'washing machines' and 'dryers.' They helped tremendously, but there were still more clothes than could be easily handled by them. With all the injured that had been coming in, it was even worse now. He was having trouble finding his way around, so he tried calling out again, "Hello? Is anyone out there?" Hanataro was beginning to feel a little nervous, being all alone in the big room. It was well lit, but with all those piles of clothes, who knew what could jump out at you.

Just then a middle aged soul reaper came out from behind a pile of clothes and greeted the nervous man, "Hello, Yamada, Sir. Is there anything I can do for you?" He watched with bemusement as Hanataro dived into another pile of clothes, "Something wrong, Sir"

Hanataro poked his head out of the dirty laundry, a pair of underwear sitting on his head, but he didn't seem to notice. He smiled timidly, a little embarrassed about his overreaction, "Um, no, nothing's wrong, I'm just a little nervous today," he said, laughing anxiously, scratching the back of his head, and finally noticing the underwear as he did so. Hanataro simply threw it aside as he crawled out of the jumble of clothes, "So what can I do?"

The man thought a moment, and then he walked over to a line of selves, where the clean clothes were kept until they could be delivered to the proper owners. He pulled a small basket of a shelf, then turned and offered it to Hanataro, "This goes to Captain Soifon in the infirmary. I was told to get these back to the captain as soon as possible, but I'm already really behind, so could you do it?"

Hanataro took the basket and nodded, "Okay, I'll get going right away," but before he could move the other man stopped him.

"And could you take these to the squad sleeping quarters? I've checked and it's on the way," he said as took a basket as large as Hanataro and placed it on the first. Hanataro nearly collapsed under the wait, but before he could say anything, the older man was already rushing him out the door, "The captain's room number is on the basket with her clothes on it. Now you hurry back, we've got a lot of work to do," Then the door shut and Hanataro was left alone with the baskets.

As Hanataro set out, he couldn't help but feel like this had happened before, _oh well, no use dwelling on it, he's right I've got a lot of work to do today,_ he thought cheerfully as he started toward the sleeping quarters, still struggling under the weight.

**OO**

Soifon stalked around the room impatiently, _what is taking Omeada so long? That idiot probably got lost or forgot what he was doing or both,_ she thought a grimace on her face. She was getting impatient and to be honest she felt a little bored. So, she began to look around the room, and she was a little surprised when she found a spare set of robes in the closet. They weren't much but they would be enough so that she could find her uniform and captain's cloak. Then she could get back to work. She had to get back to work. If she didn't keep working… she stopped, realizing what she had been doing. She took a deep breath and tried to find her calm, just like Lady Yoruichi had taught her. An assassin must remain in control of their emotions at all times. This was one of their most fundamental rules. Soifon let the breath go and sighed, finally back in control.

Suddenly she sensed something and looked towards the window just as a jet black butterfly flew in. The hell butterfly flew up to her, danced around her head for a few seconds before it return to the window and was gone. "Hmm, a captain's meeting? It's probably just a routine meeting in order for us to reassess the situation, nothing too serious. But I had better hurry, anyway," she said as she shrugged her way out of the nightgown. Soifon had just started to put the robe on when she heard a voice outside and almost immediately the door slid open.

**OO**

Hanataro had finally managed to deliver the clothes to the sleeping quarters used by the un-seated soul reapers and he had only fallen twice in doing so. He was quite pleased with himself about that. "Now I just have to deliver this to Captain Soifon." He said, hefting the small basket as he worked his way through the crowded infirmary. The Fourth Division was now in full swing, and just walking around without bumping into someone was a difficult thing to accomplish. The Seventh Seat was used to this, however, ducking through the crowd, only bumping into a few people. When he arrived at the room the captain was staying at he sighed in relief, and announced, "Captain Soifon, I have you clothes here, I'm coming in!"

To be fair he was already flustered and in a hurry. Plus he had heard about the slender captain's condition from the other healers, so he was not really expecting her to be awake already. _Still_ he thought sagely, _you should always knock when you enter someone's private quarters._ Although he did admit that he should have realized that before barging in and seeing the captain in nothing but her underwear.

They stared at each other for a few moments, and then Soifon growled at him, "Get out!" Even as she said this she began to look around the room, no doubt trying to find her zanpakuto, obviously with the intent of using it.

This was all the warning Hanataro needed, backing up quickly as he babbled apologies rapidly, "I'm sorry Captain Soifon, I didn't mean to bra-ther, I mean bother you. It was just a nipple- _little_ mistake!" He started to turn around but as he did so, someone suddenly slammed into him. It was probably a medic who was in a hurry to get to his or her next patient sending Hanataro spinning. Hanataro did not have time to ponder this, however, as he was stumbling around, desperately trying to regain his balance. He felt himself drifting forward and tried to lean back to compensate, but then he hit something. He let out a yell as the basket went flying from his hands and the clothes went flying everywhere. Then he fell… directly on top of a very upset Soifon.

Hanataro did then what most men would do in his position: stand up as fast as he could and ran out of there, screaming like a little girl.

**OO**

Soifon briefly considered going after the boy, but decided against it. She had to get to that captains' meeting. She went around the room and picked up the clothes that had been scattered around the room. The dark haired woman started to get dressed. She had just tied her black and yellow sash around her waist when Captain Unohana entered. Soifon nodded her head in acknowledgement of the older woman, "Good morning, Captain Unohana. May I help you?"

"I was merely wondering, since you are here, If you would care to walk to the Captains' meeting with me?"

Soifon thought about it for a moment before nodding. Soifon had a great deal of respect for the older captain and she wouldn't mind spending time around her. Just being around Unohana made a person feel calm and safe, even Soifon could appreciate that. As the two women exited the room a familiar voice called out to them.

"Hey, Soifon, did you sleep well?"

"Lady Yoruichi!" Soifon said smiling as her old mentor approached them. "We were about to go to a captains' meeting, would you like to walk with us?" She asked hopefully, her bad temper from earlier completely forgotten upon seeing the beautiful dark skinned woman.

Yoruichi shook her head, "Sorry but I've got some things to do around here." upon seeing the younger woman's disappointment, Yoruichi relented, "Tell you what, when you two get back, why don't we have lunch together, just the two of us."

Soifon's face lit up, "Really!" she said excitedly, but immediately made herself calm down, "I would like that very much, Lady Yoruichi, I look forward to it," she said as she bowed deeply, then she turned and walked away. Unohana followed a short distance behind her, shaking her head in quiet amusement.

**OO**

When they reached the front gate, they passed Renji Abarai, who stood at attention until the two lady captains had gone. He thought it a little strange that those two would be together but he shrugged and forgot the matter, he was here for another reason. Specifically, to see if he could find out what had happened to Kazuki Koga.

**OO**

Koga groaned, and shook his head, "What happened?" He mumbled out loud. He had been preparing to fight that lady arrancar when she released her zanpakuto, but he didn't remember anything that happened after that. Now he was here, wherever 'here' was. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a loud voice.

"Hey, hey! Looks like Sleeping Beauty here is finally waking up!" The voice was loud and annoying, but Koga could not pinpoint where it came from. Wherever he was, it was dark.

Then a woman's, no, more a girl than a grown woman, voice cut in, "Sleeping Beauty? More like a gorilla! Not a very cute one either."

"Now, Young One, there's no need to be rude," another voice, a male this time, refined and mature.

Koga could hear the sound of heavy footsteps approaching him when a fourth voice came out of the darkness, deep and gravelly, "Is it edible? Don't really look like it."

"No, Gor, you are not allowed to eat him. Lady Ciel has special plans for him," there was yet another voice, this one as smooth as silk, just the sound of it made Koga nervous, though he couldn't say why.

"Enough, stop wasting time," this voice he recognized, it spoke with authority, clearly the voice of a leader, the voice that belonged to that female arrancar. "We have much to discus with our guest," she said, in that same emotionless voice she had used before.

The room was suddenly filled with light, nearly blinding Koga. As his eyes began to adjust, he was able to make out his surroundings. It was a large cave of some sort, and in the center of the cave he could see his captors. "Who are you people?" he asked, trying to get them talking in order to buy time, so he could plan his next move.

There were six of them, though he couldn't tell what they looked like yet. Four of them, including the silver haired woman from before, were arrancars. He could tell by the feel of their spiritual pressure, or reiatsu. The two that remained, however, were different. They stood towards the back of the room, away from the rest. As Koga focused on their reiatsu, he sensed something that shocked him. _Are those two… but how? _

His thoughts were interrupted by the female arrancar's voice, "You must have many questions, but they'll have to wait. It is about to begin."

Koga struggled to his feet, he suddenly felt dizzy, and something hurt in the pit of his stomach, "Who are you? What do you want with me? Talk, Worm-Bait!" he yelled as, the pain in his stomach threatened to overwhelm him.

She stared at him impassively before speaking, "My name is Ciel Ryna, and you are going to help me topple the Soul Society."

_What! What does she mean by that?_ Before the large soul reaper could ask anything else, however, the pain in his stomach became a crushing force, pressing his mind into unconsciousness. When he awoke, he looked around himself in confusion. He was standing on what appeared to be the underside of a giant leaf, and all around him was the sound of music.

**OO**

"What? He's not here either?" Renji asked Isane, who just shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Lt. Abarai, but I've already checked our records for today and yesterday, and there was no one by that name who has come in. We do have a few unidentified patients, but none of them match your description. Are you sure he's missing? He could just be playing hooky," Isane suggested, looking at her fellow lieutenant with concern.

Renji scratched the back of his head as he growled in frustration, "I don't know," he said with a sigh, "I guess. The thing is, the last anyone in the squad saw him was just before we ran into that arrancar. And just a few minutes after I realized he was gone, I felt her reiatsu flair up again. We went to check it out but she had disappeared again before we got there. All we found were signs of a struggle, so what else am I supposed to think?" The redheaded lieutenant shook his head, "He hadn't been in Squad Six for long, but that still means that he was my responsibility."

Isane looked at him for a moment then nodded, understanding how he felt, "I'll check again, and ask around if anyone has seen or heard anything," as she said this, Renji looked at her with a grateful smile.

"Is something the matter, Lieutenant Kotetsu?" The two lieutenants turned to see Iemura approaching them. The blond man stopped in front of them and saluted the two lieutenants, "Anything I can help with?"

Isane smiled at her Third Seat, "Maybe, have you heard anything about a soul reaper named Kazuki Koga? He's a member of the Sixth Division" As she said the name, Iemura's expression changed from its usual seriousness, to a strange mixture of sadness and something else she couldn't quite put a name to.

The blond man pushed his glasses up his nose before speaking, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but I'm afraid that you won't find Mr. Koga here, regardless of the circumstances. I'm sorry again, but I have something else to attend to," with that, the man turned and left, leaving behind two very confused lieutenants.

"What was up with him?" Renji asked, scratching his head again.

Isane didn't know what to think about Iemura's strange reaction anymore then Renji did, "I'm not sure, I've never seen him like that," she paused thinking, "though I do know Iemura well enough to know he wouldn't say something like that lightly. I'll check around like I said, but…" she trailed off, and Renji nodded.

"Yeah, I get it. Either way, thanks for trying," Renji said as he started to walk away. "I'll check back at Sixth Division, maybe he's wondered back by now. If you do find something out, let me know," he said as he walked away.

Isane nodded, as she returned to work. As she did so, however, her mind once again went back to Iemura's strange reaction to the name 'Koga'. She just couldn't understand what would make him act that way.

**OO**

Soifon looked around impatiently, wanting the meeting to be over so she could go see Lady Yoruichi. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, as he explained some defensive measures he had prepared for the Rukongai.

The captain of the Twelfth Division and head of the Soul Society's Research and Development Division was most easily described as a unique individual, both in appearance and personality. Soifon often wondered which one she found more surreal, but before she could delve too far into this train of thought, she was dragged back to reality by the sound of Kurotsuchi's voice, "Our initial concern would be the sheer number of hollows that have been appearing in the Rukongai and the surrounding areas, in response to this, I have developed a series of obelisks which emits reishi at a special frequency that I have discovered through a number of very… interesting experiments," he paused, smiling at the memory of those particular experiments before continuing, "I have found that most hollows find being exposed to that frequency to be very unpleasant."

Captain Shunsui Kyoraku spoke up, "I get it, like using a high pitched whistle to scare wild animals away."

"What effect will this have on the people that live in the Rukongai, not to mention out own forces?" asked Jushiro Ukitake, the white haired captain of Squad Thirteen.

Mayuri smiled a rather disturbing sight to behold. He loved it when people asked how his projects worked, it helped show them how superior his intelligence was, "The reiatsu of soul reapers and normal souls are quite different from a hollow's, I assure you. Only the hollows will be affected."

"What about the arrancars, you have conveniently avoided mentioning them," Toushiro Hitsugaya asked, his voice hid an anger that he barely managed to contain.

Mayuri grimaced, he was not so happy when people questioned his projects' worth. Even Mayuri, however, knew enough not to push the young captain, especially after what had happened to him in the battle in the fake Karakura town. For that reason he simply answered the question, "No, arrancars are far enough removed from hollows that they will not be affected by the reishi wave. They won't be able to summon any additional hollows through a Garganta, however."

Byakuya Kuchiki chose this time to interject, "If that is the case, then I would suggest allowing guard stations to be set up throughout the Rukongai. This will greatly reduce the time it takes for our forces to respond in case of an attack, as well as reduce risk of casualties."

Head Captain Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stared at the nine captains assembled before him. They had suffered through much in the war against Aizen, though not all of these were physical wounds. And yet, they still worked hard to fulfill their duties, even with this new threat, they did not forget their duty as captains. Yamamoto could not help but feel pride in his subordinates. He then tapped his staff sharply against the floor, "Very well, I expect the two of you to carry out these tasks quickly. We cannot afford to waste a moment," he said gruffly. He looked at his captains, making sure to catch each of their eyes before continuing, "Even now, we are haunted by Aizen's legacy. But we will not let it defeat us. We will conquer this as we have conquered all threats that have come before," he spoke powerfully and with conviction, his words settling deep in the hearts of his captains. He nodded his grizzled head and spoke again, "Is there any other business we need to discuss?" silence, "Very well, you are dismissed."

As the captain filed out of the room, Unohana approached Soifon. Soifon stopped and looked at the older woman, she was anxious to get out of here and go meet Lady Yoruichi, "Is there something I can help you with, Captain?" Soifon said shortly.

Unohana didn't seem to notice Soifon's rude behavior as she simply began talking, "I came to ask that you stop by the Fourth Division after your meal with Yoruichi," she paused when she noticed Soifon's hesitation, "please? It is important." The Younger woman sighed and relented. No one could really refuse Captain Unohana anything. Unohana smiled, "Thank you, I'll see then," she said before she went on her way.

Soifon chose to only worry about the meeting when it happened, as she hurried back to the Fourth Division.

**OO**

Yoruichi looked around the Fourth Division as she waited for Soifon to get back from the captains' meeting so they could go eat lunch. _Eat where though?_ Yoruichi wondered, and as she walked past the Fourth's mess hall, she got an idea. _It's a nice warm day today, so what could be better than a picnic made for two?_ She entered the kitchen and asked if she could pack a couple of box lunches, and the cooks there readily obliged. As she worked on the lunches she went over the plan she and Unohana had come up with, or rather the plan the dark-skinned woman had wanted to use. _Knock the two of 'em out and then trap them in a cave together for a few weeks, that'll get them together… or get Hanataro killed. No plan's perfect._ However Unohana had said they would call that 'plan B'. Yoruichi did agree that the other woman's plan sounded safer, but Yoruichi still thought her plan would be more fun. _I have to try it sometime. Hmm, maybe I could do it to Ichigo._

(Meanwhile in the world of the Living, Ichigo shivered violently.)

She got back to the main waiting area just in time to see Soifon return. As the younger woman approached Yoruichi held up the two box lunches and grinned, "Ready to go?" she asked.

Soifon nodded eagerly. The two of them were leaving just as Unohana returned and she nodded politely to them. Soifon took a breath, "I'll later today, Captain Unohana. After I finish lunch I have some work to catch up on." Unohana nodded that this was okay. Soifon turned to ask Yoruichi where they were headed only to find the older woman looking at her with a small frown.

"This is just lunch?" Yoruichi asked, pouting. "I thought that this was a date." She laughed as Soifon started stammering in embarrassment. "Alright, let's see how well you can keep up." She said as she vanished with a flash-step. Soifon quickly followed suit.

Unohana watched them leave before turning to an orderly, "Could you find Seventh Seat Yamada for me? I have something I need him to do for me."

**OO**

Yoruichi stopped on the roof of a building near the Thirteenth Division. She smiled: she loved looking at Ukitake's garden. It was one of the most beautiful things in the Seireitei in her opinion. She then plopped herself down and put the box in front of her, Soifon did so as well.

As they ate they simply sat and talked about different things: old times, what life was like in the Living World, about Kisuke's trouble with force fields (Soifon had trouble hiding her smile at this.) The whole time they were both careful not to mention the war with Aizen, particularly Soifon's part in it. That is until Yoruichi saw the young woman struggle with a packet of soy sauce. Yoruichi reached out and took it and opened it. Before Soifon could voice her gratitude, however, her former captain spoke, "Not an easy thing to do with one arm is it?" She saw Soifon's look of shock and hurt and immediately felt guilty, but this was something she had to do.

Soifon turned away, not meeting her mentor's eyes. Yoruichi pressed on, "From what Retsu told me, between her and Mayuri, they can fix your arm. The only reason they haven't yet is because you won't sit still long enough to let them. If you worried about Mayuri putting something inside you that doesn't belong there, don't. Unohana wouldn't let that happen."

Soifon still couldn't look at the other woman, "No, it's not that."

Yoruichi slapped her hands down on the roof in front of her, "Then what? Are you that worried wasting time? You must be if you're willing to push yourself hard enough that you pass out."

"L-lady Yoruichi…" Soifon began.

Yoruichi cut her off, her voice growing louder as she spoke, "Fine, if time's an issue, than take one day off and go see Orihime in the Living World, or is one day still too much time? Or is it because you don't want anything to do with an outsider? Soifon, you can't go on like this, you'll get yourself killed if you d-,"

"Well, if I do, what business is it of yours?" Soifon snapped, when she realized what she had just done she immediately began apologizing, "Lady Yoruichi, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Yoruichi leaned back, surprised. She had never expected Soifon to snap at her like that, "Soifon, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have been pushing you so hard." They were quite for a few minutes before Yoruichi spoke again, "Well, I've got to get going, and you said you had paper work to do, right?" Soifon nodded in response, "Okay, you should get to it. Now don't forget you promised Retsu you stop by later." when she saw her former subordinate hesitate she spoke again, "Look, I'll be there too, so you'll have nothing to worry about. Okay?"

Soifon smiled softly, "Thank you, Lady Yoruichi. I'll be there," she said the last with her usual confidence.

As she watched Soifon walk away Yoruichi began to wonder if she was doing the right thing. _No, if I leave her alone, she'll burn herself out. I've seen it happen before. This is the only way I can help._

**OO**

_She tried to run but she couldn't escape the skull's horrible grin. She tried to run but the laughter followed her wherever she went. She tried to run but she couldn't escape that terrible darkness. The darkness had her, she couldn't move. As the darkness swallowed her she let out one last scream._

Soifon sat up suddenly, breathing heavily. She looked around herself, a little disoriented. She was sitting at her desk in her office, _I must have fallen asleep while I was doing the paper work,_ she thought as she looked out the window, _it's almost sunset… maybe I should just… no, I promised Lady Yoruichi._

With that she stood up and started on her way back to the Fourth Division.

**OO**

Yoruichi let out a sigh of relief when she saw Soifon enter through the Fourth Division's front gates, "For a minute there I thought you weren't going to make it. I was just about ready to go hunt you down, tie you up like a hog, and bring you back here," she said, laughing.

Soifon didn't laugh. She knew that her old master meant every word. "Alright, Captain Unohana is waiting in her office, correct?" she asked, wanting to get this over as soon as possible.

Yoruichi nodded, "Yeah, c'mon. It's this way," she said as she led the way. The two were quite as they walked, neither quite over the incident from that afternoon. It wasn't until they had nearly reached Unohana's office that Yoruichi spoke again, "Unohana told me about the problem with your arm: it's not just that you lost it, but your shoulder is badly damaged as well. She says you need daily Kido treatments to fix that before they even try restoring the arm itself. But you've been making sure your way too busy for Unohana to do that, right?" Yoruichi winced, she hadn't meant to say that last part that harshly.

Soifon didn't respond for a moment and when she did, all she said was, "Yes, Lady Yoruichi," Soifon didn't say anything more, she didn't want to risk another fight.

When they got to the door Yoruichi knocked and then said to Soifon, "Look, Soifon, I know you're bothered by all this but it will all turn out okay. I promise," she stood there looking at the young woman, her eyes filled with worry.

Soifon hesitated and then nodded, _Lady Yoruichi is right, I won't last if I keep going the way I have been,_ she thought as she walked into the office where Unohana was waiting for them, Isane by her side.

Unohana smiled warmly at them, "You made it, that's good," she waited until the other two women had sat down before continuing, "Ah, would you like some tea?" When they both declined she got down to business, "The biggest issue with your treatment is time. I need a certain amount of time, only about four to six days, to treat your shoulder. However, as a captain, you don't have four days to waste waiting in the infirmary, correct?" Soifon readily agreed with this statement.

Yoruichi shook her head with admiration, _that's Retsu for you, she's a master of tact. Up till now I never really thought I needed it. But it's really impressive how Retsu can say pretty much the same thing I did without hurting Soifon,_ she thought, silently thanking her healer friend.

Unohana continued, "I believe I've found a solution that will work for everyone: I will assign you a personal medic who will remain with you for the next week, or however long is necessary for you to get back to one hundred percent. Of course, this will mean that you will have to find some way to lighten you workload for the next week or else the medic won't be able to do you any good."

Soifon stood up clearly upset, "A week! How do you expect me to get any work done with some Fourth Squad weakling following me around for a…" she trailed off as she felt Unohana's gaze grow sharper. Soifon realized that perhaps 'Fourth Squad weakling' was not the wisest word choice, considering who she was dealing with.

Unohana's voice did not change at all, and her expression did not appear any different either, and yet the atmosphere in the room was completely different. "So, you are saying you would prefer to spend the next week in the infirmary? Very well, I shall make the arrangements," she said it calmly, and while the words themselves did not sound threatening, all three of the other women began to sweat nervously.

Soifon quickly spoke up, "N-no, ma'am. On second thought the medic sounds fine," she said, her shoulders hanging in defeat.

Yoruichi and Isane couldn't blame the young captain. There are very few, if any, people who can turn Unohana down when she got into a mood like that.

Just as suddenly as it had begun, Unohana was back to her usual self, "Ah, good. Thank you for being so understanding, Captain," she said pleasantly, as if nothing had happened. Unohana looked at the clock on her desk, "That's odd… He should be here by now," she was just about to tell Isane to go find him when they heard a noise outside.

"Captain Unohana? You wanted to see me now?" Soifon blinked, that voice sounded familiar. Now, where had she heard that voice before?

Unohana nodded with satisfaction, "Good, he's here, now I hope the two of you can get along," she said to Soifon. Then she called to the person outside, "Ah, Yamada, you can come in now."

"Yes, Captain," the voice said as the door slid open.

**OO**

Hanataro walked down the hallway, a little confused. Captain Unohana had summoned him earlier today, and told him she had a special assignment for him.

"Special assignment?" he asked, a little confused.

"Yes, I need you to act as the personal healer for a particular patient. You'll be spending the next week or so away from the Fourth Division, so you should go and pack everything you think you'll need," she said as she started to walk away.

"W-wait! Wouldn't Mr. Iemura or another officer be a better choice for this," he said panicking. To himself he thought that it didn't even need to be an officer seated above him and they would still do a better job than him.

His captain turned back to him and walked closer, "Yamada, do you really believe that I would assign this to you if I didn't have faith in your abilities?" She asked, as she put her hand on his shoulder, but she did not wait for an answer, "You are a gifted healer, Hanataro, one of my best. Not only that, but I truly believe that you are the only person I can trust this task to. Now, will you do it?" she asked one more time.

Hanataro stood there, stunned. He never suspected that the captain had such faith in him. Well, there was no way he would let her down, "Yes, Captain, leave it to me," he said, putting as much gusto into his words as he could manage. This still wasn't very much, however.

Unohana smiled affectionately at him, "Good, stop by my office once you finish with your packing, but be sure to finish your work first," she said, as she turned and walked away again.

"Yes, Captain, I will," he called, then something occurred to him, "Wait, who am I being assigned to?" he called, but she was already gone.

Hanataro shrugged and got back to work. He promised himself that he would fulfill his captain's expectations.

The rest of his day passed without incident, and he was able to get back to his quarters and start packing sooner than he had first expected. He couldn't decide what he should take with him, however, so he simply packed everything he owned. This was actually not very much, which bothered Hanataro a little, but he decided he had better hurry to the captain's office.

When he arrived, he set his medical kit, his travel bag and Hisagomaru, his zanpakuto, on the floor and knocked at the door and then called inside, "Captain Unohana, you wanted to see me now?" He had learned his lesson about knocking from that incident with Captain Soifon. He was still worried that she would show up at any moment. He shook these thoughts from his mind, _no, it's okay. I'm going to be okay. I'm going to prove myself with this mission. I mean, what can possibly go wrong?_ He thought as he heard the captain call him in. "Yes, Captain," he said as he opened the door. That is when he froze.

"You!" Soifon growled, reaching for her zanpakuto.

"Eep!" was Hanataro's only, and very appropiate, response to this.

Yoruichi looked back and forth between the two of them, "Oh? You two have already met? Well, that makes things easier," she said, an evil grin splitting her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Preview<strong>

**Orihime**: Hey, Mr. Author when are we going to show up?

**Chad**: …Yeah.

**Uryu**: I'm ready at a moment's notice

**Ichigo**: Yeah, when's our big debut in this thing?

**Author**: Um, well, you see… Oh looks like we're out of time!

**All (except Chad)**: Now, hold on just one second!

* * *

><p><strong>Fun Time Explanations with Captain Mayuri<strong>

Mayuri walks onstage in his normal attire: long white coat, black and white face paint, and golden helmet. Behind him is his lieutenant, Nemu, who is wearing a bright red clown's nose that, as she squeezes it, it makes a honking noise.

Mayuri turns to the camera and smiles, "Some of you have been wondering for a while now, why are the arrancars working with hollows? They've never done this before. Well, let Uncle Mayuri provide you with an explanation." His smile becomes wider, and somewhere you can hear a baby begin to cry, "Before, under Aizen, the arrancars had all the personnel they required," he paused, walking to the other side of the stage before continuing. "Now, however, they have lost all of their most powerful fighters, and therefore seek to rebuild their forces, with each surviving arrancar planning to put his- or her self at the top. To accomplish this, they need underlings, the more the better. This makes hollows ideal for their purposes, as hollows naturally follow whoever is strongest. And that is how our current situation has come about," Mayuri then turns his head until his chin is pointing almost straight up, "That's all the time we have for today, so long, kiddies."

As the screen goes dark, Nemu squeezes her nose and it honks.

* * *

><p>Well, there's the second chapter. What do you think? I would like to say, first of all, that I am deeply sorry about those puns, you know, when Hanataro… meets Soifon. Really, I feel great shame about those two puns, on several levels.<p>

There may be more mistakes in there than last time. I have a slight reading disability. If you see any mistakes let me know and I'll try and fix them. Also If anyone is willing to Beta for me, send me a PM, and I'll get back to you.

I would also like to take this time to thank all of you who reviewed.

To: Samantha 626, arguellovspryor, thatguy, Imperialguardsmen, FlyingMintBunny579, and a special thanks to my very first reviewer, whether I can trust them or not, Thomas the Betrayer. Your advice about the mega upload, and everything else was a big help. Thank you.

Now, feel free to give me advice if you see any way I can improve, and I'll get started on the next chapter.

Thanks and see you soon, sincerely,

Justagoodguy.


	3. Chapter 3: A Rough Start

How to find Silver

Bleach and all its characters are the property of Tite Kubo, all other characters belong to me.

Soifon is not pleased with her new healer and demands a change when Unohana makes a suggestion.

* * *

><p>Chapter Three: A Rough Start<p>

A Rough Start Hanataro woke up early the following morning. At first he was confused about his unfamiliar surroundings, until he remembered the mission Captain Unohana had given him, _that's right, I'm in the Second Division._ He looked around the room and discovered a tea set in the corner, _oh, I know, I'll make Captain Soifon some tea, that's a good way to start the day. I have to do everything I can to make this work,_ he thought. As he began working on the tea, his thoughts turned to the meeting from the night before.

_**The night before**_

"You!" Soifon hissed reaching for her zanpakuto. When the door had opened she had been more than a little surprised to see the boy who had walked in on her while she had been changing earlier that day.

"Eep!" was Hanataro's only, and very appropriate, response. _Is Captain Soifon the one I'm supposed to be looking after for the next week? I__. Am going.__ To. __Die__!_ Hanataro thought to himself, he always was a bit of an optimist.

"Ah? You two know each other? Well that makes things easier," Yoruichi said, grinning evilly. She knew exactly how the two young soul reapers had met, she and Unohana had been watching the whole thing that morning.

Soifon recovered quickly from her surprise, as she was already prepared to show the young man just how displeased she was about his earlier 'intrusion'. She was about to unsheathe her sword when Yoruichi placed her hand on top of that of her former subordinate.

"Relax, Soifon, this is the guy that's going to be looking after you for the next few days. You know you can trust Retsu's judgment, right?" seeing that the younger woman was not convinced, she added, "Don't worry, it'll work out just fine, trust me."

Soifon hesitated a second longer before she relaxed her hold on her weapon. She looked around the office and was a little surprised to see that Unohana's lieutenant, Isane, had also been preparing to draw her zanpakuto. _Hmm, she was prepared to use force to prevent an incident from occurring in her captain's office, as well as to protect a squad mate, even if it meant facing a captain? Not bad. I just wish my lieutenant was so dedicated,_ she mused as she sat down again.

Unohana pretended that she hadn't noticed the small commotion as she continued her explanation, "As I was saying, Soifon, allow me to introduce you to my Seventh Seat, Hanataro Yamada. As I've already told you, Soifon, you will need extensive treatments, both with kido as well as standard medicine, before we will be able to perform the procedure to restore your arm. Yamada will provide you with those treatments as well as inform me on any progress you make in your recovery," Unohana paused for a moment as she picked up a small stack of papers and handed them to Isane. The captain waited until her lieutenant had walked to the other side of the desk and handed the papers to Hanataro and Soifon before going on, "This is the schedule I have set up for you. It includes when you should apply the treatments, as well as what kind. There is also an exercise and diet guide that you should both memorize. Now, Soifon, I want you to do your best not to overwork yourself. I expect you to take at least one full day off during this week, maybe two." Soifon started to say something, but Unohana tilted her head to one side and remarked with a small smile, "Hmm, have you decided you would prefer to stay in the infirmary after all? Alright…"

Soifon immediately started protesting, "N-no, Ma'am. I meant nothing of the sort," she said barely hiding her panic under the older captain's gaze. She had no desire to get on the normally mild tempered Unohana's bad side.

The meeting continued uneventfully after that, the only interruption being the occasional question from Hanataro or Lady Yoruichi. Soifon looked at the small man, no, not man, he was more a boy than anything else, at least in her eyes. He was scrawny and short, obviously he wouldn't be able to keep up with her usual pace, though that was probably the Fourth Captain's plan. That was not the only problem Soifon could see, however. Even though she was sitting right next to Hanataro she could hardly hear him when he spoke, partially because he spoke rather quietly, but he also was prone to stuttering, though Unohana appeared to have no trouble understanding him, probably through practice. Soifon noticed that the small soul reaper kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye, and he seemed to become excessively nervous whenever he did so. Soifon did not particularly care, all this meant to her was that it would be that much easier to keep the boy out of her way.

She returned her attention to Unohana, who was drawing the meeting to a close, "Do you both understand everything that we've talked about?" They both nodded so Unohana continued, "Very good, now if either of you have a question or a problem you would like to discuss, feel free to come talk to Isane or myself and we'll give whatever help we can manage. Now, I believe you should both get back to the Second Division and try to work out where Hanataro will be sleeping, remember, I believe it would be best if his room were as close to yours as possible, Captain Soifon," she raised a hand when she saw Yoruichi open her mouth to make a suggestion, "And, no, Lady Yoruichi, I don't think it would be wise for them to simply share the same room, as interesting as that would be for the two of them," Unohana smiled as she saw Hanataro blush, Soifon as well, though hers was not nearly as noticeable as the boy. She looked to the side and saw that even Isane was beginning to turn a light shade of red. As she stood up from her desk she saw Yoruichi give her a look that said simply, 'spoil sport.' Unohana pretended not to notice as she said, "Alright, I believe that is everything, you may go now," she gave them a small bow, which Hanataro shot up from his seat in order to return. He did it so quickly, in fact, that he shot forward and cracked his head against Unohana's desk and crumpled to the floor.

Isane hurried to her subordinate's side, "Hanataro, are you all right?" She asked concern on her face.

Hanataro shook his head vigorously, trying to clear it, and turned to Isane, scratching his head, "O-oh, I'm fine Lieutenant, I-I just stood up to fast is all," he said, laughing sheepishly.

Soifon looked at him with annoyance, _this is going to be a __long__ week,_ she thought as she shook her head. She walked to the door and she then turned back and said to Hanataro, curtly, "You, Hurry up," she nodded to three women in the room more politely, "We'll be going now, thank you Captain." She then turned to Isane and bowed her head slightly, "Lieutenant," she said simply as the silver haired woman nodded her head in acknowledgement. This done she turned to Yoruichi with a smile on her face, "Good Night, Lady Yoruichi."

"Night, Soifon, I'd walk you back, but I've got a few things to discuss with Retsu, but I'll try and see you tomorrow, okay?" She smiled as Soifon nodded and walked out of the room leaving Hanataro to hurry after her.

Isane watched them leave, more than a little nervous for Hanataro, "Captain, are you sure this is a good idea? Captain Soifon has a reputation for being… harsh," she said turning to look at her captain.

Unohana just smiled her usual smile, "Yes, Isane, I think that this will be a good experience for both of them."

Isane couldn't help but wonder about this last statement, but she decided not to pursue the subject further, at least for now.

**OO**

As she and Hanataro walked through the Fourth Division, Soifon wondered what she was going to do with him. She was pulled out of these thoughts when she heard someone yelling, "CAPTAIN!" Soifon sighed, she knew that voice.

She turned around and watched as her Lieutenant, Omeada, came rushing down the hallway towards her, tears streaming down his face. She waited until he had nearly reached her and faster than Hanataro's eyes could follow she snapped her leg up, kicking Omeada in the stomach, causing the large man to sink to the floor as he gasped out on last "Captain!"

Soifon looked at Omeada with an annoyed look on face, "Where have you been? I sent you to get my uniform this morning and now the sun has almost completely set. So, how do you explain yourself?" She asked him, her voice calm but serious.

Knowing that he was serious trouble Omeada decided that the best course of action was to tell his captain the truth… at least to start with, "Well, you see, Captain, I went straight to the division's wash room… well, that is, I tried to get there, thing is, I kinda got lost," He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. Soifon did not laugh, however, she simply looked at him, her expression unchanged. Gulping, Omeada continued his story, "Well, I eventually found my way to the mess hall, and since it was almost time for lunch, I decided I may as well eat there."

Soifon interrupted him, "Your eating would explain at least two of the hours you were missing, but how did it take you that long just to find the mess hall? Even you couldn't get lost that badly," she said crossing her arms in front of her chest as she waited for him to answer.

Omeada briefly considered telling her that before finding the mess hall, he had accidently wondered into the women's changing area, which was being used at the time, and so he ended up spending the next several hours unconscious. After looking at the captain's stern glare for a few seconds, he decided against it. Instead he continued his story from where he had left off, "Anyway, after lunch I took a nap..." he began but Soifon cut him off again.

"A nap? You were carrying out orders that I gave you and you somehow found time to take a nap?" Soifon asked, with only a small frown on her face to give her emotions away.

"Well, I really needed one after the beating and everything."

"Beating? What beating?" Soifon asked, raising her eyebrow slightly.

Omeada once again decided to keep going instead of answering questions, "Anyway, I got directions to laundry room, but when I got there, they told me that your clothes had already been delivered," Omeada said, now trying to finish his story as quickly as possible, "after that I went back to your room, only you weren't there anymore. So I decided to wait there for a while."

"And you just happened to come out now and find me, right?" Soifon finished and Omeada nodded. She looked at him for a moment trying to decide what to do with her often useless lieutenant, but then she simply let it go. _I'm tired, and I still have to find a place to keep this __runt,_ she thought as she walked past Omeada

The 'plump', as he liked to describe it, soul reaper was currently wincing because he was expecting a smack from his captain. He was very surprised when he didn't get one. As he watched her go he noticed a small soul reaper, who was carrying the Squad Four medical bag on his back, trailing close behind her. Omeada stared the strange pair for several moments, not really sure what to think of them, when it finally occurred to him to ask what was going on. He hurried to catch up to them before he spoke, "Um, Captain, did you know you have a little medic following you?" he asked, hanging back a ways, deciding that it would be a good idea for him to stay out of smacking range.

Without stopping or looking back, Soifon told him, "This is…" she paused, not entirely sure what the boy's name was, or if she had heard it.

"Hanataro Yamada, Ma'am," the small soul reaper said helpfully.

Soifon nodded as she continued, "Yamada was assigned to me as my personal physician by Captain Unohana. She says that he can help me with my… problem," she said with slight hesitation, still not happy about the situation. As the trio exited the Fourth Division, Soifon went back to the problem of where he would sleep. There might be room for him in the company barracks, but those were a fair distance from her room, and Soifon decided that it would be best if she followed Unohana's instructions as closely as possible. As Omeada finally decided that it would be safe to walk close to her, Soifon got an Idea, "Omeada, you stay at your family's estate, don't you?"

Omeada was a little surprised to hear her ask him a question so suddenly, but he still managed to answered quickly, "Uh, yeah, that's right, Captain," he said, wondering where she was going with this.

Soifon nodded at this as they neared the Second Division. As the trio entered the compound a number of stealth squad members bowed at their captain and lieutenant, none of them so much as looked at Hanataro. They proceeded down the hallway and past a few more members of Squad Two, who all bowed to their superiors, as they expressed their relief to have them both back. Looking around Hanataro thought to himself, _wow. I guess they must really like their captain, to make this much of a fuss when she has only been gone one day._ This realization made him feel much better about his situation, _she must be kinder than I thought._ At that moment Omeada made a comment that Hanataro didn't catch and immediately received a smack to his face from his captain,

_Er, then again…_ Hanataro thought as he laughed nervously to himself.

They eventually arrived at a room deep inside of the main building. Soifon opened the door and gestured inside, "Yamada, this is where you will spend the week during this little 'experiment'," she said as the healer walked in and started look around.

The room was of a fairly average size, not what most people would call large, but to Hanataro it was huge, at least when compared to his quarters back in the Fourth Division. He looked around the room in awe, his already large eyes getting even bigger. Suddenly, he turned around and faced Soifon, "I can really stay here?" he asked, when she nodded, a big smile appeared on his face. "Thank you, very much," he said and bowed deeply to Soifon.

Soifon looked at him a little surprised, not sure how to handle his reaction, she had never seen someone so happy just to get a new room. Soifon turned away from Hanataro, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink, "Look, forget it," she said trying not to show her embarrassment.

"But, Captain, this is the lieutenant's quarters, my room," Omeada began, but Soifon cut him off abruptly.

"Which you already told me you don't use, and it's right next to my quarters, which fits our needs right now," she said giving Omeada a look that said, _go ahead, argue some more, I __dare__ you_. Omeada was immediately silent, and with that out of the way Soifon turned to Hanataro, "Alright, there's a closet over there to keep your things in and the bed's there," she said, pointing to each in turn, "and that door leads to my room, but I expect you to make sure you knock first, got it?" Soifon said firmly, even menacingly and Hanataro nodded vigorously, blushing slightly. Neither wanted a repeat of what had happened earlier that day.

"Omeada, you show him where the mess hall and the wash room are. Then get back here, we both have a lot of paper work to take care off," she said as she walked out of the room and headed to her office. She stopped at the doorway and turned toward Hanataro, who had just entered the hallway along with Omeada, and asked, "Like I said, I have a lot of work to catch up on. So, is it alright if you start on those treatments in the morning?"

Hanataro nodded, "Yes, according to the notes Captain Unohana gave me, that would actually be for the best," he said, and with that Soifon nodded and entered her office.

Omeada tapped Hanataro's shoulder and motioned for the smaller man to follow, "Alright, kid, the mess is down this way," he said speaking as they walked. Omeada was leading the way with Hanataro only a short distance behind him, when he looked back at the other soul reaper, "So what exactly is going on here?" he asked Hanataro, "Why do you have to have a room so close to the Captain's?"

Hanataro was having a little trouble keeping up with the much taller man, so he was gasping and panting as he answered, "W-well, Since Captain Soifon wouldn't stay at the Fourth Division to be treated, C-captain Unohana ordered me to stay with her and treat her m-myself," he was so wrapped up in his explanation, that he didn't notice that Omeada had come to a stop and accidently ran into him, "O-oh, s-sorry," Hanataro said, to which Omeada simply grunted.

Omeada pointed at a door that was at the far end of the hallway, "That's the mess hall and the washrooms are down that hall, and the bath house is out behind the main building," he said pointing the out the general direction for each. "Got it?" Omeada asked, looking at Hanataro, wondering how this poor-looking shrimp could help anyone. Omeada had seen some unwealthy-looking people before but this guy took the cake. Everything from the boy's large, droopy eyes, to his slumped shoulders, and the fact that he was like three feet tall and scrawny beyond reason made Omeada wonder about his abilities even more.

As if he could read Omeada's mind, Hanataro let out a small chuckle, "Heheh, yeah. I know what you must be thinking, 'how can this weak looking guy possibly help my captain?' right?" Hanataro asked, to which Omeada had to nod. "Yeah, I know what you mean, I'm not exactly the most talented soul reaper. But Captain Unohana said that she had faith in me, so I'm going to do everything I can to help Captain Soifon!" Hanataro said, trying to get pumped up, but only succeeding in making himself worn out.

Omeada still didn't know what to think of the kid, but if the two of them had known why Unohana had so much faith in the boy for this mission, Omeada would have chased Hanataro out of the Second Division right then and there, and Hanataro would have let him.

"Right, let's get back to the captain. You need to get settled in and I've got paperwork to do, tsk," Omeada said unhappily, he hated paperwork. As they walked back, both men couldn't help but wonder what the next week held in store for them.

**OO**

Renji was in his office, working the team rosters for the new guard stations that they were planning to set up in the Rukongai, when there was a knock at the door. Renji looked up, grateful to have an excuse to put the paperwork aside, "Who is it?" He asked, already standing up and moving away from his desk.

The door opened and a dark-haired soul reaper with a single tattoo over his left eye walked in, "Hey, Lieutenant Abarai, you said you wanted to be alerted as soon as we got any information on Kazuki, well… he's here," Rikichi said and Renji hurried towards him.

"Really? Where?" Renji asked, moving to stand right in front of Rikichi, who was a little surprised by how much effort the lieutenant had been putting into looking for a low ranking soul reaper like Kazuki Koga.

And so, the dark-haired soul reaper couldn't help but ask, "Um, Lieutenant?" Renji looked at his subordinate, and then Rikichi continued, "Is there a special reason you've been going out of your way to find this guy? He hasn't been in the squad very long, not to mention that I've heard that he has been nothing but trouble for any other squad he ends up in."

Renji smirked a little as he replied, "Don't you know not to believe everything you hear?" Renji patted Rikichi on top of the head. "Actually, kid, that's exactly the reason why I'm trying so hard. I don't know what kind of trouble he's been in before, but now that he's here, that means that he's a member of Squad Six, he's one of us. And that means we all look out for each other, got it?"

Rikichi was looking at the red-haired lieutenant with star filled eyes, "You are so cool when you talk like that," Rikichi said, and then he grunted when Renji hit him on top of the head.

"Stop looking at me like that, it's creepy," he said just as Koga walked into the room.

Koga let out a small snort, "Still practicing the comedy act, Lieutenant?" he asked sarcastically.

Rikichi started to step forward, but Renji stopped him, "Glad to see you back, so what happened? You look kinda banged up," Renji asked, and it was true. Koga's uniform was torn in several places and the large man had cuts and bruises all over his body.

Koga shrugged, "I found the arrancar, spent most of the day unconscious because of it, only just got back," he said, and then he waited for the inevitable chewing out he would get for running off on his own.

To his surprise, it never came, "Alright, you look pretty banged up, so I'll talk to you in the morning, for now you should get to the Fourth Division and have them check you out," Renji said, deciding that, with Koga's history of insubordination, it was best to handle the situation delicately, which wasn't exactly Renji's strong suite, but he didn't have much choice. A guy like this was probably used to simply being labeled a problem and then being shunted off to another squad. Renji wanted to avoid that if he could.

Koga shook his head, "Sorry, Lieutenant, but I don't go there, personal reasons," he said simply, he then turned and started to walk out. "I'll be fine. In fact, I'm supposed to have night shift anyway, so I'll get to work."

Renji was wondering what the large soul reaper meant, when Rikichi stepped forward and stuck out his tongue at Koga's back, "So, we all look out for each other, huh, Renji. I guess he didn't get the memo."

Renji didn't answer, he had just remembered that Iemura had said something similar to him that very morning. Renji shook his head, if it was important he was sure Iemura would have said so. Renji instead decided to get back to that duty roster.

**OO**

Hanataro looked around the room he had finished unpacking, and he was rather happy about that. He yawned and crawled into bed. He wanted to do his best for Captain Unohana and Soifon as well, and with those thoughts in his mind, he fell promptly to sleep.

_**Present Day**_

Having finished the tea, Hanataro moved to the door leading to Soifon's room and knocked. After waiting for several moments with no response, Hanataro cautiously opened the door and peeked inside, "Captain Soifon... I-I don't mean to wake you…" but when he looked around the room, Hanataro was surprised to find that no one was inside. Soifon's bed was empty, in fact, it looked like it hadn't even been slept in. Looking around worriedly, Hanataro walked through the room, when he noticed another door situated near the bed. He walked to it and knocked again, he had made a promise to himself to knock at every door he entered after yesterday's 'incident'. _Maybe she's already awake and has started work,_ Hanataro thought as he opened the door, and was once again surprised, this time it was because Soifon was asleep at her desk. Realizing the captain hadn't gone to bed last night Hanataro moved closer to her and noticed that she was moaning in her sleep, she sounded… scared? This was not something Hanataro had ever thought to associate with the lady captain. The only thing stranger would be Captain Kenpachi in a pink tutu… _huh, now there's an image that's going to haunt me for a while,_ Hanataro thought calmly as he carefully set the tea tray on the desk. He then moved around to Soifon's side and gently shook her shoulder, "Captain Soifon? Are you ok? Capta-Aaagh!" Hanataro was cut off when, once again, Soifon's assassin instincts kicked in and she sent the poor boy flying with a sharp blow to his chin.

Soifon looked around, slightly confused. Had she just heard someone scream? Then she heard a moan coming from in of her desk. She stood up and leaned forward, using her lone arm to support herself as she looked over the edge of the desk. In front of it was Hanataro's crumpled body.

He let out a groan, "G-good morning, Captain Soifon," Hanataro mumbled as he stood up and gave Soifon his customary smile. Dusting himself off, Hanataro began to pour tea for the captain, humming softly to himself, as if nothing had happened. "I'm glad you have so much energy, it's a good sign. I'm glad you're alright, by the way," he said as he handed the tea cup to her.

Soifon took the cup and looked at Hanataro with a slightly annoyed expression on her face, "Why wouldn't I be 'alright'?" She asked. _I had that nightmare again, did he see? Does he know that I'm nothing more than a coward?_ These thoughts worried her, Soifon was strong. She had no weaknesses. At least that's what she wanted everyone to believe, herself included.

Looking up Hanataro took a glance at the young woman, worried. _Does she not remember? She obviously had some kind of nightmare, but if she doesn't remember it… it would be probably be better if I didn't talk about it._ Then he took the tray and moved it to a small table in the corner of the room before speaking, "Oh, never mind, it wasn't anything important. Um, if it's okay with you, I think we should have breakfast and then I'll get started on your morning treatment. Uh, w-would that be okay?" He asked nervously, knowing he was already on bad terms with the ill-tempered captain. After all, she hadn't wanted to accept this arrangement, but there isn't a single person in this or any world that could refuse Captain Unohana when she decided to be… persuasive.

"Fine, but you can go eat in the mess with everyone else, unless you have some kind of 'objection' to that," she said calmly, but something about the way she said 'objections' made Hanataro nervous.

"No, t-that sounds just fine to me, ha-ha," the young and fairly nervous boy said as he backed his way to the door of the office, but he stopped before opening it. He turned back to look at Soifon, "Um, Captain?" Hanataro asked hesitantly, flinching when she looked at him sharply. She didn't say anything, she simply waited for him to ask his question. Gulping, Hanataro pressed on, "Um, aren't you going to eat?" Hanataro asked, even though he really just wanted to get out of there, but if she didn't eat properly, she wouldn't get better, and that was something Hanataro couldn't let happen.

"I take my meals in my office," Soifon said calmly, as she sat back down at her desk and began to shuffle some of the papers on her desk, and almost as if on cue, there was a knock at the door. "Enter," she said, not looking up from her task as a Squad Two member entered carrying a tray of food. The man set the tray on the captain's desk and left, but as he did so, he gave Hanataro a look that was almost, but not quite, a glare.

A little confused by the other soul reaper's actions, Hanataro bowed to Soifon, "Alright, I'll try to get back soon, Captain," he said and with a nod from Soifon, he left.

Hanataro walked down to the mess hall, picked up a tray and had gone through the line before he noticed something: everyone in the mess was staring at him. He looked around for a place to sit, his nervousness growing with each moment. He saw a table that had no one on it, so Hanataro sat down and lifted a forkful of food to his mouth, and began chewing. That's when he noticed someone had sat down across from him, and so, Hanataro decided he should try to be friendly and talk to the new comer, but before he could open his mouth, two more soul reapers appeared on either side of him, all three wearing the Second Squad uniform, complete with ninja tabi and masks covering the lower parts of their faces.

Hanataro was looking back and forth between them when the one across the table spoke, "So, you're the Fourth Squader who has been assigned as Lady Soifon's personal physician, huh?" The man said as brought a spoonful of food to his mouth and began chewing… without removing his mask.

Before Hanataro could ask how the thin soul reaper could do that, the shorter man to Hanataro's right spoke up, "We hear that you are going to try and fix our Lady's arm, isn't that right?" He then took mouthful of food, again without removing his mask.

"W-well, I'm not going to fix her arm myself actually, I'm j-just supposed to help her to get well enough so that Captain Unohana can-" Hanataro began to explain but was cut off by the third soul reaper, this one a woman.

"So, do you think you'll be able to help her? She has been through a lot lately, and our Lady is a very busy woman, so she doesn't have time for you to play around," the woman said, glaring at Hanataro, her blond eyebrows knit together with annoyance.

"Um, w-well, of course I'll do everything I can to help C-captain Soifon. I-I don't really know what I can do for her exactly b-but…" the small soul reaper trailed off as he realized that every soul reaper in the mess hall was gathered around his table and not one of them looked happy.

The thin one, whose name was Shin, looked at the now trembling Hanataro, "We just want to make sure that you do everything in your power to help our Lady," he said, holding up a spoon and looking into it, as if the masked man was admiring himself in a mirror.

Raiha, the shortest of the three, sighed at his companion's antics before he added, "Lt. Omeada said that you will be using the room adjoined with the captain's, so we figured we should advise you…" but he was suddenly cut off by the female soul reaper, Ganko.

"That if you try anything funny, you'll have to deal with me!" She said emphatically, and then looked around herself as she realized everyone else in the room was staring at her. Ganko coughed and then said, "Uh, I mean: us," looking around sheepishly, as she did Hanataro could make out the slightest hints of a blush just over the edge of her mask.

"Ahem!" Shin cleared his throat in order to get the attention back on himself and then said, "Yeah, well, just remember, that we in Squad Two can be anywhere at any time. Just a little fun fact I thought I'd throw your way," he said as he took a drink of apple juice from Hanataro's glass, and then smiled at Hanataro through his mask, and with that he was gone. As were all of the other soul reapers, leaving a very terrified Hanataro in their wake.

Hanataro let his head sink onto his food tray. As if he wasn't worried enough about whether or not he could handle this mission, now he had ninjas to worry about. _But…_ Hanataro thought, lifting his head from the tray, a few grains of rice sticking to his face. _It's obvious that Soifon's people care a great deal about her, and that makes me feel a lot better about things._ Hanataro then decided to finish his breakfast and head back to Soifon as soon as possible. Even if they weren't threatening him, Hanataro wouldn't want to let anyone down.

**OO**

Inside a cave far away from the Seireitei, the place where the mysterious female arrancar, Ciel Reyna, had taken Koga, Gildrick Rey was looking for someone. The blond haired arrancar walked up to Ciel, who was standing near to the entrance of the cave and said in his usual chipper yet loud manner, "Hey, hey! Boss-lady, have you seen the new guy? I wanted to see if he wanted to play a game of cards. No one else seems to want to play with me," Gildrick said, trying to look sad and pitiable, and doing a fairly good job at it too.

The silver haired woman didn't turn to look at the other arrancar as she said, "That's because you cheat, Gil," as usual there was not even the slightest hint of emotion in her voice.

Laughing, Gil flicked the sort braid of hair that hung from the right side of his head, "Yeah, well, don't you think playing fair gets kinda boring after a while?" He asked, but he was only half serious.

"I sent him back to the Seireitei, so he could begin his mission," Ciel said, answering his earlier question. She looked out across the Soul Society, and found herself wondering what it would look like after she completed her own mission. She heard someone else approach, almost noiseless footsteps, which meant it was probably Becklan.

This arrancar had hair of a very dark blue that was covered in what looked like thin bone legs with the two in the front coming down to frame his face. Becklan bowed courteously to Ciel, beginning to speak as he rose upright, "So you've already put the plan in motion then? Are you sure he's ready? He only received your 'gift' yesterday, after all," the sly looking arrancar asked.

Ciel looked at him briefly before speaking, "I have the power to 'judge' a person just by meeting their eyes. I can read their power, their motives, and their very lives. With this, I knew that Kazuki Koga was perfect for our purposes. As well as the fact that he will do everything we need him to do," she said looking back out at the landscape of the Rukongai. _It is rather beautiful,_ she thought, _it's truly a shame what is going to happen here._

Then the sound of massively heavy footsteps approached from the cavern. Gor, the last of the four arrancars had come to see what the other three were up to. The two remaining members of their group that Koga had seen were boring him right now, so he came to see if the others had anything worth doing. The huge arrancar looked around grumbling in an impossibly deep voice. At this point he would even be willing to play cards with Gil.

Gil looked at the large arrancar and smirked, "Hey, hey. It's rare for you to come outside at this time, you know, Gorry? Aren't you worried about being exposed to natural light?" The blond smirked at his red haired companion, tapping the cage like bone mask that covered his own right eye.

Gor growled at the smaller arrancar, but before he could make a move, Beck raised his hand for silence, "We've made contact with Shinosuke, by the way, he says his mission is going well," he said, moving back inside of the cave, "he will be returning shortly."

Ciel nodded, "Good," was all she said, as she looked out across the Soul Society.

Gor moved to follow sly looking arrancar, sniffing at the air, which made the bone strip that went from the tip of his nose and went to the top of his skull. He didn't say anything, but he didn't like going back in there, the smell of that girl and the old man annoyed him.

"Ah, too bad, he just missed meeting our new buddy, Koga," Gil said, chuckling softly, as he began following the other two. Then he pulled out a deck of cards as if from nowhere and began shuffling them in a complex manner, "So, any of you want to play cards?" He asked, holding up a hand of five cards, all of them were ace of spades. The other two groaned in annoyance at him, which made him laugh louder. He stopped when he realized that their leader was not following, "Hey, hey, Boss-Lady, you coming?" He asked.

"Soon enough, you can go on without me, Gildrick," she said not looking back.

He shrugged as he walked back into the massive cavern, _and they say __I'm__ strange,_ he thought, as he began shuffling the cards again.

**OO**

Soifon was storming through the Fourth Division, once again, dragging Hanataro behind her. She marched up to a nearby nurse, "Would you be so kind as to tell me where I can find Captain Unohana?" Her words were extremely polite and yet the tone of her voice told the unfortunate nurse that she better answer the question as quickly as possible.

"S-she's in her office, C-captain Soifon," the woman managed to gasp out before Soifon took off again, Hanataro bouncing around in her grasp.

Soifon reached the door and knocked, but did not wait for someone to answer before she opened the door, to find Unohana in the room alone. Captain Unohana looked up but did not look entirely surprised to see a clearly upset Soifon and a bedraggled Hanataro at her door. Her face remained perfectly calm as she greeted the younger woman, "Good evening, Captain," the motherly figure said, and it certainly was. The sun had just begun to set and it made the sky light up and a beautiful cascade of colors. If she were to be honest, Unohana was a little surprised that it had taken Soifon this long to decide she was tired of the poor boy. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Soifon dumped Hanataro unceremoniously in front of Unohana's desk, "Yes, I'm returning this, it's defective. I want a different one," she said her voice very cold, but her face not betraying any emotion besides maybe annoyance.

Unohana kept her neutral expression in place as she responded, "You want a different one? What seems to be the trouble with the one you have?"

From his position on the floor Hanataro began to wonder if they thought he was nothing more than faulty merchandize. No, he didn't need to wonder that, they did.

Soifon pointed at Hanataro and began listing her grievances, "First he went to get breakfast and took an hour and a half to get back. Then he administered the treatment without trouble, but when he tried to help me put my captain's cloak back on after the treatment he somehow managed to get himself tangled up in it and ended up knocking every last piece of paper off of my desk, it took me a half hour to clean up," Soifon didn't add that she had refused to let Hanataro help for fear he would make it worse. She didn't need to.

Soifon could see that Unohana didn't think that that alone was enough for her to be assigned a new healer. That was alright, the Second Division Captain had plenty of other examples.

**Earlier that day**

After the paper incident, Hanataro had gone off somewhere, saying he would be back around noon, which was fine with Soifon, because it gave her a chance to check up on a few things. First she had received a request from the Sixth division, asking if she could spare any personnel to help with the guard stations that Captain Kuchiki was organizing. She started going through her personnel files, but she started to feel sleepy. She didn't want to risk falling asleep. So Soifon ended up taking a walk around the Seireitei, and ended up near the Squad Ten barracks.

That's when she heard the voices, loud, angry voices. She walked around the corner and saw three members of the Tenth Division standing over a clearly terrified Hanataro, "Didn't we warn you about this last time, Crap-Face?" One of them said as he kicked some dirt in Hanataro face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The unfortunate healer wailed. He tried to stand up, but the other two knocked him back down.

"We told you to knock it off," the first one said, so intent on Hanataro that he did not notice Soifon's approach. He raised his fist to punch the smaller man when Soifon reached out and grabbed his arm. The soul reaper turned to say something nasty to her, when he realized who it was that he had nearly chewed out. The man froze, as his companions began to babble excuses but Soifon cut them off.

"I don't care what you were doing here, the only thing I want is for you three to get out of my sight… now!" She said calmly, and they almost fell over each other in their rush to comply with her orders. She shook her head at their cowardice. _As bad as they were though_, she thought as she turned to look at Hanataro, _he is even more pathetic._

Hanataro stood up, dusting himself off, and then he smiled at her, "T-thank you, Captain," he said giving a small bow. Soifon ignored him, however, and just started on her way back to her office.

**Present time**

Back in Unohana's office, Soifon continued with her list of complaints, "When he performed the afternoon treatment, he redid the bandages on my shoulder and ended up making them so tight I almost suffocated. Then he tried to bring me an afternoon snack, a pudding, but he tripped on his own feet and spilled it on me. Then when Lady Yoruichi had come to visit me, this boy tried to join in with our formation exercises, but he tripped, again, and knocked every one of my men that were practicing down to the ground. What makes it worse is that Lady Yoruichi was there to see it. After that, he tried to make up for causing a mess that morning by trying to help with the paperwork, and while I don't know how he managed it, but he ended up sending a team of my soul reapers to a place called Cardiff, Wales. I don't even know where that is!" She finished, and she glared at the source of her troubles. Hanataro had gotten up from where she had dropped him, and he flinched from her gaze.

Hanataro had remained silent as she spoke because part of him agreed with her. He felt bad that he would be letting Captain Unohana down, but what else could someone as incompetent as him do?

Soifon looked at captain Unohana again, "So you see why I need a new healer for this to work?" Soifon asked, looking at Unohana imploringly.

Her expression still blank, Unohana shuffled a few papers on her desk and then placed them down again before she spoke, "Yes, I can see that you have had quite a bit of trouble with Yamada today…" the healer said, and with those words Soifon looked hopeful that she would get out of this situation. She did, that is, until Unohana smiled sweetly at her and said, "Request denied."

Soifon was almost lost for words, "Wha-?" She began, but stopped when Unohana raised her hand for silence.

Unohana looked at Hanataro, "Yamada, would you please make us some tea?" She asked and Hanataro leapt to the task. "I cannot give you a different healer because I do not agree with your reason for wanting someone else. I do not believe that the problem lies with Hanataro," Unohana said, which made both Hanataro a Soifon stop in their tracks.

Soifon looked at the other captain for several moments before she spoke, "So, are you saying the fault lies with me?" Soifon asked her voice soft and yet at the same time it sent chills down Hanataro's spine.

Hanataro walked over to Unohana's desk carrying a tray of tea. Unohana waited for Hanataro to pour her a cup of tea before she answered Soifon's question. "Not entirely, Captain. While you did not do anything to hinder Hanataro, neither did you try very hard to help him." Unohana said, and then she made a gesture for Hanataro to offer some tea to Soifon as well. Soifon refused however.

After setting the tea kettle back on the tray and moving it to a small table where there was a special holder that would keep the tea warm, Hanataro spoke up, "T-that's not true, C-captain," he said, and both women looked at him, which only served to make him nervous. Hanataro tried to press on in spite of this, "She did help me, s-she saved me from t-those bullies, do you remember?" He asked hopefully.

Soifon's eyes opened wide in surprise, she could not understand why he would stand up for her, because even she had found herself agreeing, at least on some level, with what Unohana had said.

Unohana had noticed Soifon's reaction and she chose this time to speak, "I think I may have an idea that could help you two," she turned to look at Hanataro, "Yamada? Would you stop by the Fourth division tomorrow morning? I have something I want you to deliver to another Division, after that I would like you to go about your usual day," Hanataro nodded as the Captain of Squad Four continued, "and I would like you to accompany him, Captain Soifon," Hanataro looked up in surprise and Soifon began to say something but stopped when Unohana raised her hand again. "I think that it would be of great benefit to both of you, otherwise I would not suggest it," she said. Hanataro paused and then nodded his agreement. Unohana had expected this, what she had not expected was Soifon's reaction.

"Very well, Captain," was the only thing the young woman said.

Unohana raised her eyebrow but decided to let it be for now, "Thank you, Captain. Now, I would like you two to be here as early as you can, so you should both get back to the Second Division. Make sure you take care of the healing treatments, both tonight and tomorrow morning before coming here," she called as they left. Hanataro turned as he walked to nod and ended up tripping and falling flat on his face still in full view of the doorway. Unohana heard Soifon sigh in disgust. Then the older captain saw a black clad arm reach out, grab Hanataro by the back of his color and drag him away.

Unohana stood up from her desk and walked over to the table where Hanataro had placed the tea, and poured herself another cup. Unohana breathed in the scent of the tea and let out a sigh of contentment before speaking, "Don't you know that it is rude to eavesdrop, Yoruichi-dear?" She asked as she carried the tea back to her desk. She had set the cup on her desk and sat back down before Yoruichi poked her head in through the window.

"Hi, Retsu. Now, I wasn't eavesdropping, I just happened to be taking a nap outside you window is all," Yoruichi said, a big smile on her face. The dark skinned woman hopped through the window, grabbed a chair and moved it in front of Unohana's desk before sitting down. Yoruichi looked at Unohana, still smiling, and said, "A whole day together and still nothing. Boy, those kids are slow," she joked.

Unohana picked up her cup of tea, "Now, Yoruichi, one day isn't nearly enough time," she said, as she calmly took a sip of tea, "we'll need at least the whole week."

_She's serious,_ Yoruichi thought nervously though she kept her face calm, _I was joking, but __she's__ serious._ While Yoruichi looked at her friend and shook her head, she looked up when Unohana started speaking.

"To be honest…" Unohana began, taking a slight pause before continuing, "I was somewhat surprised that Soifon agreed to this so quickly," she looked at Yoruichi, "do you have any idea why?"

Yoruichi sat there for several moments, deep in thought. She leaned back in her chair and finally spoke, "well, the thing is she doesn't know what to think of the boy," she said, scratching her cheek thoughtfully. Yoruichi leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees with her hands clasped together in front of her, "I had been keeping an eye on Hanataro for most of the day, and everything happened pretty much like Soifon said. She was pretty rough with the kid each time, though. She never yelled, but she had that glare of hers on her face almost all day, which didn't help the kid's nerves at all and probably is what caused him to mess up as bad as he did," Yoruichi had her hands stretched out, the fingers of each pressed against each other, "What I'm saying is she had snapped at him, growled at him, and glared at him nonstop, but Hanataro, he still stood up for her. And he did if for just one act of kindness. That confuses her, because having worked so hard to be a leading member in the Punishment Force those kinds of sentiments don't make sense her. I mean, she has trouble showing her nice side to her own men," Yoruichi leaned back in her chair and sighed.

Unohana had been listening to her friend's explanation intently, "I see, so she agreed to follow him in the hopes of understanding him?"

"Not entirely, she also knows you wouldn't make a suggestion like that lightly, so instead of following her initial impulse to argue with you, she simply agreed. I think both of those things were what did it," Yoruichi responded. Unohana nodded her understanding and another thought occurred to Yoruichi, so she leaned forward again and asked, "Cardiff?"

Unohana couldn't help but laugh softly.

**OO**

A man with dark silver hair walked through the Rukongai. He was more or less alone, since most people had been staying inside their homes ever since the hollow attacks had begun. The man did not particularly care, because he did not really care for people anyway. The man looked around himself with blue-grey eyes. _Soon,_ he thought as an ugly grin splitting his normally attractive features, _soon this, all of this will burn!_

* * *

><p><strong>Preview<strong>

**Ichigo**: So, you're not going to have any of us from the living world in this story?

**Author**: Hmm, is that really so bad?

**Ichigo**: I'm not saying we have to be in it all the time, it would just be nice to have a little 'screen time' you know?

**Author**: Well, ok, I have an idea, but remember, you asked for it.

**Ichigo**: Wait, what?

* * *

><p><strong>At home with the Kurosakis<strong>

It had been a week since Ichigo had returned from the Soul Society, and during that whole time his father, Isshin Kurosaki, had been avoiding him. _Is he just upset that I found out he was keeping a huge secret like that from me? Stupid old man,_ Ichigo thought as he approached his father's room. He had decided to confront his dad about it, because, well, Isshin had been quiet this whole time. And a quiet Isshin was just plain creepy. Ichigo walked over to his dad, who was looking out the window, and that is when the orange haired boy spoke up, "Dad, I know, that it's kind of a big deal for me to find out about your secret, but like I said before it's no big deal, okay?" He said placing his hand on his father's shoulder.

Isshin suddenly spun around and hugged Ichigo tightly. Ichigo struggled at first, but then decided to let his dad have this. Isshin hugged his son for several moments before speaking, "Thanks, Son…" he said, patting the teenager on the back affectionately, when suddenly his grip got tighter, trapping Ichigo's arms, " or would it be better to say 'thanks, Sucker'?" He said as he sifted his grip so that Ichigo's head was higher than his own. The former captain started to laugh manically, "I can't believe you fell for the old 'act-emo-so-your-enemy-drops-their-guard-and-let's-you-get-them-in-a-bear-hug' trick. I thought I taught you better than that," he said as he turned back toward the window, Ichigo still trapped in his grip.

Ichigo struggled helplessly against his father's grasp, and then he started screaming, "What kind of name for a strategy is that? And let me go, you crazy old geezer!"

Isshin clucked his tongue disappointedly, "Now, Ichigo, 'old geezer' is redundant, you should know that. And now for your punishment," with this the older man leapt backwards, yelling, "**Secret Technique: Isshin Style German Suplex!"**

"Aaaaaah!" Ichigo screamed as he head rushed towards the floor.

Downstairs the two girls, Yuzu and Karin, looked up when they heard a resounding crash from upstairs followed by more yelling. Karin shook her head as she said, "Looks like the two idiots are back to normal."

Yuzu grinned happily, "Yeah, looks like it," she said with a small giggle.

* * *

><p>Well, that's the third chapter, sorry for the wait. First, I had computer troubles, and then, well, I just have a little trouble getting past my innate lazy nature. Reviews would help, reviews would help a lot.<p>

Special thanks to: 5popcorn99, Thank you, I threw that 'fun time explanation' together at the last minute, so I'm glad you liked it.

FlyingMintBunny579, you reviewed for both chapters so far, thank you, please continue to give me your support.

XxVizard95xX, thanks for the review, it was short but I appreciated it a lot.

And thanks to all you people that put me on story alert and favorited my story.

Well, that's all for now, please wait patiently for the next chapter. I'll do my best, but you know, remember that review button. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated. It doesn't have to be long, just give me some love.

Thank you and see you next time. Sincerely,

Justagoodguy, I try to be, well, just a good guy.


	4. Chapter 4: A little bit Better Part 1

How to find Silver

Bleach and all its characters are the property of Tite Kubo. Other characters belong to me.

Soifon follows Hanataro on his daily routine, and what she sees surprises her.

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><p>Chapter Four: A Little Bit Better<p>

Part 1: Interesting

Hanataro had woken up early that morning, because he wanted to get everything ready for his day. First he washed his face using water that was kept in one corner of the room. Then he changed out of the simple grey robe he slept in, and put on his soul reaper uniform. After that he double checked all of his supplies in his medical bag. Once that was done, Hanataro prepared some tea to bring to Captain Soifon.

Just as it happened yesterday, no one answered when Hanataro knocked on the door to Soifon's room. Also just like yesterday, when he entered the room, Soifon was not in her bed. So Hanataro marched over to the door to her office and entered.

Soifon was sleeping at her desk again, moaning and twitching uncomfortably. Hanataro walked over to the desk and set the tea tray down. Then he walked around behind the desk, took a deep breath, "Alright, here I go," he said as he gently grabbed Soifon's shoulder and gave it a small shake, "Captain, it's time to wake up."

.45 seconds later, Hanataro found himself flying through the air again. He rolled a short distance when he hit the ground and ended up smashing into a book self, with enough force that a few of the books fell down on top of him. "Good morning, Captain," he managed to say with a groan.

Soifon blinked at him, then simply nodded, "Good morning, Yamada," she said calmly, and watched as the boy tried to place the books that he had knocked down back on the shelf, but only succeeded in bringing the whole thing down on top of himself.

Soifon sighed and said, "Just leave it for now, Yamada. I'll just have someone else take care of it. You go and eat breakfast, and get back here so you can get started on that errand Captain Unohana wanted you to do."

"Y-yes, Ma'am," he said, bowing politely. After he left, he walked past a reaper carrying a tray of food for Captain Soifon. As the man gave Hanataro a sharp glare, the small reaper briefly wondered if it was the same soul reaper who had brought the food yesterday. He decided that it probably didn't matter.

When he got to the mess hall, Hanataro tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. He got through the line and to a table without any difficulty. He even managed to eat his breakfast without a hassle. _They must have decided that one warning was enough,_ Hanataro thought as he put his tray in with the other dirty dishes. On his way back to Soifon's office, Hanataro was starting to think that this would be an uneventful morning, a rare thing for him lately. Suddenly he bumped into someone in the hallway. He really should have known better.

Hanataro took a step back and looked at the person he had bumped into. It was a tall thin soul reaper wearing the Stealth force uniform. Hanataro had begunto back up, looking around nervously as he did so, when he bumped into someone else. He tilted his headto look at the person and was not entirely surprised to see the blond woman from yesterday.

The tall reaper spoke first, catching Hanataro's attention, "Hey, Ganko, look who it is. It's that little guy… uh, what was your name again," the thin man asked, leaning in as he did so, and Hanataro could see that he wore glasses, but Hanataro could not remember if that had been the case yesterday.

"Um, I'm Hanataro Yamada, n-nice to meet you," Hanataro said and gave a small bow.

The other soul reaper nodded his head in return, "My name's Shin Masaki. And that is Ganko Muto, and if you're wondering, the short guy that was with us yesterday is called Raiha… uh, you know, I don't know if I've ever heard him say his last name," Shin said, scratching his mask thoughtfully.

Ganko raised an eyebrow, "Huh, now that you mention it, me neither," she said, and Hanataro took this chance while they were thinking to try to make his escape.

"Um, you're obviously have s-stuff to do and Captain Soifon is waiting for me, so I'll just be on my way," he began, trying to walk past them but Shin grabbed Hanataro by the collar and lifted him off the ground, and set the smaller reaper back down where he had been standing before.

"That's actually what we wanted to talk to you about. We heard that you are going to be taking care of your usual Fourth Squad duties today, and you're bringing our Lady with you. Is that right?"

Hanataro wondered how they knew that. _Oh, right, ninjas,_ he thought and then he spoke, "Uh, y-yes," Hanataro said, knowing it was not the answer they wanted, but it was still the truth, so what else could he do?

Then he was grabbed by Ganko and spun around to face her and Hanataro had no choice but to look into her very green eyes, "Yeah, well, we have a little problem with that," she began, but Hanataro didn't get find out what that problem was, because at that moment the third member of the trio, Raiha, showed up.

Now that Hanataro saw him standing up, he could see that the hazel-eyed man was shorter than the other two, but still taller than Hanataro himself. Raiha gently broke Ganko's grip on Hanataro's collar, and set the small healer back down. He looked at his two companions, both of whom were shuffling their feet sheepishly, and neither would meet his gaze.

Raiha sighed, "I was wondering where you two had gotten to. You ran off when Lady Soifon tried to take this kid back to the Fourth Division last night, and when you returned you were both ticked off about something. At least now I know what it was about," he said, and shook his head at them, pressing his hand against his forehead as if he had a headache. "Look, you can't keep hassling the kid like this. You just make him too nervous to do his job, and the one who ends up suffering is Lady Soifon," he said as he looked at the other two to make sure they understood what he was saying. They did, fortunately, and Shin stood aside so that Hanataro could pass. Hanataro opened his mouth to thank Raiha, but the other man shook his head again, "All we ask is that you look after our Lady."

Hanataro nodded, "R-right," he said, and bowed again before hurrying on his way.

Ganko was glaring at Hanataro's back as he walked away, "I still don't like it," she said, not taking her eyes off the boy.

Shin chuckled and walked over to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder and, "You know, Ganko. If your eyes could shoot daggers, that kid would be in serious trou-," he started to say, but was cut off when they heard Hanataro yell in surprise and then they saw him fall to the floor. Shin looked at Ganko brown eyes wide. Waving his arms wildly, he yelled, "Aaah! What did you do?"

Ganko had her hands against her cheeks, as she babbled frantically, "I-it was an accident, I swear!"

Raiha hung his head, pressing his hand to his forehead again, as he tiredly said, "Guys, he just tripped."

**OO**

Hanataro got back to Soifon's office and went through the treatment without any further trouble, and after the medic had finished with a few more preparations, they were able to set out to the Fourth Division. Soifon looked at Hanataro, who along with his medical bag was carrying a bag which had four bento boxes inside it. She assumed that two of them were for Hanataro and herself, but she couldn't figure out who the other two were for.

When they arrived at the Fourth Division they were greeted shortly after entering the main building by Isane, who bowed to Soifon and said, "Good morning, Captain," and then she turned to Hanataro and smiled, "Good morning, Hanataro, we've missed you here," she said as she offered a small package to Hanataro.

Hanataro gave her a smile at those words, "Thank you, Lieutenant Kotetsu," he said as he took the package, "This is what Captain Unohana needed me to deliver?" He asked.

Isane looked at him for a moment before she nodded. She was a little surprised to find that she had missed his smile, but she didn't think on it for very long. "Yes, this is medicine for Captain Ukitake, he's expecting you sometime today, but Captain Unohana said you don't have to deliver it immediately, so feel free to take care of what's normally on your schedule first. Oh, and also, there is a note in the package for you, Hanataro, please read it at your convenience," the tall woman said, to which Hanataro nodded understanding.

Soifon took a step forward and spoke, "Does Captain Unohana need to speak with us?" She asked

Isane shook her head, "No, not today. She also says that you do not need to come back here later unless you still want to be assigned someone else or there is some other reason to come here that you feel cannot wait," she said, and then she turned to Hanataro and smiled again, "I meant to say this the other day, but… good luck."

Hanataro smile got even bigger, then he nodded and,after carefully placing the package into the bag with the lunches, he turned to leave with Soifon following close behind. "Um, first we'll go to the Twelfth Division, is that okay?"He asked, shyly. Then almost as if he had to explain why he added, "That's where I go first every day."

"It's your routine," the captain said simply, though she was a little surprised that someone like Hanataro would willingly go to the Twelfth Division,especially with a captain like Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

"Oh, wait," Hanataro said as he turned back the way they had come from, "I have to ask Lt. Kotetsu something, I'll be right back," he said as he ran off. After a few minutes he came back smiling and he actually seemed pretty excited about whatever he had found out, "Okay, I'm ready," he said as he started walking. Soifon simply shrugged her shoulder and followed.

Along the way, many people would stop Hanataro and ask him for a favor, and the healer almost always accepted. They were usually simple things that would only take a few minutes such as helping to tidy a room, help find a specific item in a storage room, or carry something from one Division to another one that was along the way.

Soifon was at the same time annoyed and somewhat impressed with Hanataro. Annoyed because he allowed everyone he met to turn him into his or her own personal workhorse. But she was also impressed because he somehow managed to accomplish almost everything that was asked of him while not delaying his own work overly much. That's not to say he worked efficiently, or skillfully, no definitely not skillfully. Rather, he simply kept going, if he made a mistake, he would try his best to correct it, starting over if he had to, and keep on working. As Soifon thought about it, she realized that Hanataro had done the same thing yesterday, but she had simply been too annoyed with him to notice.

While she had been thinking they arrived at the Twelfth Division building. As the pair walked through the gates and toward the tower that was Research and Development headquarters, Soifon decided to ask Hanataro a question, "So, what are we doing here exactly?" She asked calmly.

"Oh, um, I come here to visit Lt. Hinamori, Captain Unohana got me special permission to do so," Hanataro said as they entered the main building, "I just make sure her room is clean, and change her sheets, maybe read a book to her. I talked to lieutenants Abarai and Kira to find out what her favorite stories are," he said, a cheerful smile on his face.

As they walked through the halls, Soifon heard someone call out Hanataro's name. She turned and for one distressing moment she thought she saw another Hanataro. When she looked closer she realized that that was not the case, and sighed in relief.

The person had brown hair with a ponytail in the front, but his facial expression and body posture were very similar to how Hanataro usually was. When the boy got close enough to not have to shout, he leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. After taking a few deep breaths he spoke, "H-hi, Hana, how are you?" The boy, Rin Tsubokura, asked.

_Wait, all he wanted to do was to say hello? And he ran himself ragged for that?_ Soifon shook her head, apparently this boy had more in common with Hanataro than just looks.

Hanataro smiled at his friend, "Hi, Rin, I'm doing okay. I'm just showing Captain Soifon around today," he said, gesturing at Soifon as he did so. When Rin saw the lady captain, he bowed and gave a nervous greeting.

"I didn't know you two were friends, uh, that's a little weird," Rin said, looking out of the corner of his eye, as if this was some kind of prank someone was playing on him.

Hanataro saw Soifon's eyes narrow and hastily said, "W-we're not friends, really, I'm just supposed to act as a healer for her, y-you know, for her arm."

At this Rin looked at where Soifon's left arm was supposed to be and said, "Ohhh," as if he had only just now realized that it was missing, which would not surprise Soifon at all if that were the case.

Hanataro and Soifon started walking again and Rin followed them. After a few minutes the trio arrived at the room that Momo Hinamori was in. Soifon looked at where the young girl lay unconscious, and took a seat in a chair by the door as she watched the two boys began to sweep the floor and pick up around the room making sure everything was clean. Although, since they did this every day, she couldn't imagine that they had to do very much. As they worked, Hanataro talked ceaselessly about the news in the Seireitei, about Momo friends, and just about anything else one could think to talk about.

As Soifon watched them, she thought about how Hinamori came to be here in the first place. It could all be summed up in two words: Sosuke Aizen.

Soifon clenched her fists at the memory of it, as she, Captains Kyoraku and Hitsugaya and former captain Shinji Hirako used every skill they had at their disposal to try to defeat Aizen, and they had even thought they had succeeded when Hitsugaya managed to stab Aizen from behind. That's when they heard it, Ichigo Kurosaki yelling at them, and at that moment Aizen's body was replaced by that of Hitsugaya's childhood friend, Momo Hinamori.

Soifon shook her head, as if that would be enough to make her forget. She knew that she couldn't have done anything to stop it, not with all of her skills. After all, they hadn't done her any good earlier when she had fought against…_No, that's in the past, it doesn't matter anymore,_ Soifon thought to herself, almost desperately so.

"Captain, are you okay?" A soft voice asked, and Soifon looked up to see Hanataro staring at her with concern. "Y-you were shaking," he said quietly so that Rin could not hear.

Soifon nodded, "Yes, I'm fine," she said sharply, and Hanataro flinched away from her. Then she remembered the conversation with Unohana from yesterday and added, "Thank you." When she said this, Hanataro let a small smile cross his face, and for some reason this made Soifon somewhat pleased. Then he looked around and walked to where Momo lay, and picked up a book that was sitting on a nightstand next to her bed. He opened it to a certain page and sat down in a chair next to the bed. "I'm going to read for a while, do you want to listen?It's a collection of poems that Lt. Kira said were some of her favorites."

Soifon shrugged her good shoulder and nodded, and Hanataro took his seat as Rin found a chair right next to Soifon, though he tried to put as much distance between them as possible. As the healer read from the book, he spoke in a quiet, soothing voice that seemed to carry through the whole room. It was actually rather nice, and Soifon started to nod off without realizing it, but as she did so, it occurred to her that Hanataro was not stuttering nearly as much as he usually did.

**OO**

Gor Delbern let out a frustrated growl, he was not a patient arrancar to say the least. He paced around the cave, moving back and forth around the main cavern where the group spent their free time. He let out another growl. He hated waiting around for Koga to finish the mission Ciel had given him, whatever _that_ was.

"Oh, would you knock it off already!" Gor turned towards the voice and snorted in annoyance. He watched as a young woman with bright red hair walked towards him, a man with greying black hair followed close behind her. The girl brushed her hand through her hair, her hand flicking the ponytail she wore high on her head, bound by a large green ribbon. She glared at the large arrancar, "Can't you stand still for one minute?" The girl, Manami Hamano, said as her companion placed a placating hand on her shoulder.

"Please calm down, Young One," the older man said, his grey eyes locked with her blue ones.

Manami looked at him, annoyed, "But Shigure~" she whined and pointed at Gor, "he's annoying."

Shigure shook his head, he had known Mana for most of her life and she still behaved like such a child at times. "He is still one of our allies, we really can't afford to fight amongst ourselves," he said.

"Yes, though I think you both have a point," Beck drawled as he entered the chamber with Gil and a tall man with short silver hair and grey eyes, Shinosuke back from the Rukongai, close behind, and they all turned to look at three newcomers. "You _are_ being somewhat annoying, Gor," the dark haired arrancar said, though his voice was neutral.

The large arrancar clenched his shovel like hands, his long nails biting into his flesh, and then he snorted, trying to calm down. He turned to Becklan, and started talking, subconsciously tapping his foot on the ground as he did so, "You know I hate to stand still too long, I have to keep moving or I'll go crazy!" He growled.

Gil poked his head out from behind Becklan's back and chirped, "Wait, isn't that a shark? I thought you were a mole."

Gor's thick, red hair stood up straight in irritation, "I'm not a mole!"

Mana giggled, she was enjoying watching the large arrancar's temper tantrum. Gor started to move towards her, raising his fist as he approached, but stopped when Beck spoke.

"That's enough," he said coolly as he walked up to the quarreling pair. "Gor, why don't you go out to the Rukongai? It's best if we cause trouble there from time to time. We don't want the reapers to grow too complacent. No, the best strategy is to keep them on edge with apparently random attacks, at least for now." Becklan turned to Gil, "I would like you to go with him, Gil. Give him a few minutes to stretch and then drag him back here."

Gil was not pleased, "Keep an eye on Gor? But that's like… ugh, work!" He said the last word with considerable distaste.

But any further protests he might have had were cut off when Gor grabbed him by the back of his white and green cloak, "A few minutes is better than nothing, so come on," he said as he dragged the blond towards the cave's main exit.

Gil held up his hands, as if pleading for help, his feet dragging against the ground as he wailed, "Noooooo!"

Mana stared after them, "Are you _sure_ working with them is the best idea?" She asked Shigure.

The older man very pointedly did not answer.

**OO**

"C-captain Soifon?" Hanataro asked, timidly. His past experiences with trying to wake Soifon had not been happy ones, but he didn't have much choice, he had finished with his chores here today and wanted to continue. Soifon blinked groggily as she woke up.

She stretched out, surprised of how good she felt. She knew that she hadn't been asleep long, but that had been the best sleep she had had for some time. _I didn't even have that dream,_ she thought, then her eyes opened wide in shock, _I didn't have the dream? But up to now I've had it every time I've tried to sleep. No, every time I closed my eyes._ Soifon looked over at Hanataro, _was it because…_

"Um, Captain," he repeated concerned, "is everything okay?" Soifon could see that the boy was nervous, as usual, but the concern in his voice touched her, though she would not show it.

"I'm fine, Yamada. Are you done here?" She asked, trying to make her face and voice as neutral as possible.

"Almost," he said as he walked toward the door, "I-I h-have to t-talk to Captain K-K-Kurotsuchi," he said, trembling and sweating visibly. Not that Soifon could blame him, Mayuri Kurotsuchi was not exactly known for his congeniality.

Rin was hesitant at first, but after a little cajoling from Hanataro, he agreed to guide them to the captain. As they walked through the halls Soifon managed to catch sight of a variety of the experiments that were being conducted in the Twelfth, many of which made the young woman wish she hadn't seen anything.

They entered a large chamber and Hanataro saw what he thought was Captain Mayuri, but Soifon , who was far better at observing details saw that the 'captain' would occasionally flicker slightly. But what was truly surprising about this, was that the image emitted a reiatsu and it was identical to that of the real Kurotsuchi's. None of this meant much to Hanataro, who had begun speaking to the image.

Rin stepped forward and placed a hand on Hanataro's shoulder. The brown haired boy pointed to the image's feet, where Soifon could make out a small cube shaped object. "It's a special image projector that the captain invented recently. It can mimic any image we feed it, and it can even go through a variety of motions. And the best part was that it can even mimic a person's reiatsu, as long as it has a sample."

Soifon thought hard about the possible uses for this device in the Stealth Force. Once they fixed that shimmering glitch, she would have to request it for her squad. It would most definitely come in handy.

"Yes, it is impressive, isn't?" A voice from behind her said. Soifon turned to see the somewhat disturbing visage of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, whose mouth was split in a wide grin. "Although I do appreciate the company, it is rather odd, to say the least to see you here, Captain Soifon," he said, his voice heavy with suspicion. Mayuri did not like members of other squads wondering around looking at his research.

Before the mad scientist could say anything more, however, Hanataro spoke up, "U-um, C-captain?" He began but faltered when Mayuri turned to look at him. The boy sank to the floor,as if he was trying to ooze through the ground, under the captain's gaze. Hanataro somehow managed to make himself continue, "A-about what I-I ask you yesterday?" The boy asked, his voice a barely audible squeak.

"Hmm?" Mayuri leaned in close to Hanataro as if he didn't know what this strange blob that happened to be wearing a soul reaper's uniform could possibly be. "Ah, yes, you… don't worry," the peculiar captain said shortly, waving his hand as if dismissing Hanataro, "I have already contacted Unohana, and she informed me that she will be sending some people to pick Hinamori up later today."

Hanataro beamed at the scientist, and started to rush from the room, but stopped at the doorway to turn back and bow to Mayuri, "Thank you," he said before he scurried off, Rin following close behind.

Soifon shook her head, _He's probably running off to tell Hinamori the good news,_ she thought, knowing that it didn't matter to the healer that Momo was unconscious. Before Soifon went to join Hanataro she turned to Mayuri, to discuss in greater detail his little illusion device.

**OO**

As Hanataro and Soifon left the Twelfth division, Soifon thought she felt someone watching her, but it quickly faded.

A fair distance away, Kazuki Koga glared at Hanataro and only Hanataro for a moment, and then he turned and walked away, _none of the people here are any good for what I want anyway._

**OO**

Gor used sonido, a technique arrancars used for high speed movement, and landed in the middle of a rundown street the center of west Rukongai, it was almost completely deserted… almost.

"Hey, Arrancar, what do you think you're doing here?" A soul reaper with short black hair asked as sunlight glinted off his sunglasses. The man hefted a huge sword with a single edge and a pick like protrusion near the end of the blade, but despite its size the man wielded it easily. "C'mon, hurry up and answer, I'm a busy guy."

Iba Tetsuzaemon couldn't help but smile to himself. When Captain Kuchiki started setting up these guard stations, Iba had accepted the orders for this post grudgingly because he thought that with Captain Kurotsuchi's anti-hollow obelisks warding off the worst of the attacks, that he wouldn't see much action. Fortunately, it looks like he had been wrong about that.

Gor looked at the soul reaper, not sure to make of the man, after a few more seconds the arrancar asked, "Are you some kind of thug or something?"

Iba's arms hung down to the ground, his mouth wide open. It took him a few moments to recover and he could say, "What was that? What would make you think I'm a thug?" Iba yelled at the arrancar, pointing his zanpakuto accusingly at him.

Another soul reaper, this one bald with small red marks at the edges of his eyes, came up from behind Iba, "Well, it's probably your language, the way you act, the way you dress, your hair…" Ikkaku Madarame said, counting each item off on his fingers before being cut off by the irate lieutenant.

"Hey, what are you trying to say, Ikkaku?" Iba asked the other man, tears streaming down his face at this betrayal.

"Hey," Gor began.

"Well, I was listing a few of the things that would make someone believe that you are a thug or a delinquent,"Ikkaku saidhis face completely calm, not at all surprised by his former squad mate's reaction.

"Um," Gor tried again.

"Who said anything about delinquent, and what do you mean by 'a few'?" Iba yelled again.

A small, red blast of light flew between the two soul reapers cutting off any further conversation, the attack carried on blasting a fair size hole into one of the houses on the street. The two soul reapers slowly turned to face the now very irritated arrancar, "Yes?" They asked in unison.

Gor's eye twitched slightly at their apparent lack of interest in him. "I've only got a few minutes here, so stop playing around and get ready to fight. C'mon, I don't have all day here… so which one of you am I going to get to rip apart," the huge arrancar said, and a positively dreamy look filled his swamp-green eyes and a small smile graced almost nonexistent lips. Gor didn't really care about fighting,unlike a lot of arrancars, but killing? Now, that was a different story entirely.

Iba smirked as he stepped forward to face the arrancar, "Fine, we already did 'rock, paper, scissors' just so we wouldn't have to waste any time," the dark-haired soul reaper said.

"I still say you cheated," Ikkaku murmured from behind Iba.

The lieutenant ignored him and said, "Alright, let's go," Iba said as he took an offensive stance before saying, "My name is Iba Tetsuzaemon, lieutenant of the Seventh Division of the Thirteen Court Guard."

"What is that about?" Gor asked, wondering why he should care about this guy's name.

"Don't you know anything about etiquette?" Iba asked the arrancar, a confident smirk on his face, "It's only good manners to tell an opponent your name before you kill them," he said as he leapt forward and swung his zanpakuto down as he tried to use it to split the arrancar's skull open.

Gor looked at the soul reaper, apparently unconcerned. Beck had made sure all of them were briefed on all of the Captains and Lieutenants, as well as any other dangerous persons from the Seireitei. This guy had been at the battle in the fake Karakura town, but he hadn't even fought, and his buddy had fought and lost outright. So the red-haired arrancar was not at all concerned with the soul reaper's Gor raised his hand, figuring his hierro would be enough to stop even that huge blade.

When the sword struck his hand, Gor's eyes opened wide in surprise as the blade cut deep into his flesh. The force of the blow was enough to push Gor's arm back so that it struck and cut into his shoulder. Iba smile got bigger, "Heh, you've got pretty tough skin. I had been hoping to cut you in half with that strike."

Gor growled, ignoring the pain, and swung his other hand down, his long nails as sharp as knives. The soul reaper vanished and Gor hit nothing but the ground, which erupted in a smallcloud of dirt and debris. Gor looked around before hesensed Iba in the air above him. The soul reaper was muttering something before he yelled, "**Hado thirty-one: Shakkaho!" **A red ball of energy appeared on the soul reaper's palm before it shot toward the brutish arrancar.

Gor grunted in pain when the spell struck him with a small explosion knocking him off balance. Iba was quick to take advantage of this. Using flash-step, which is how he escaped the arrancar's attack from before, Iba moved to Gor's side and swung his sword with both hands and all of his strength. With a loud battle cry Iba smashed his blade into Gor's side, sending the arrancar flying into the side of a building. Large hunks of timber fell on the arrancar burying him temporarily.

Iba was glad that this arrancar was so impatient, because Gor had been rushing to find a fight he had let his reiatsu run wild. Because of this the soul reapers had had plenty of time to evacuate the civilians in the area. This meant Iba could fight without having to hold back.

The timber sifted and tumbled away as Gor stood up. He looked at his opponent and asked, "Hey, Sunglasses, what did you say your name was again?"

Iba looked at him, and lowered his sword for a moment and rested his left hand in the folds of his uniform, "Iba Tetsuzaemon," he said calmly.

Gor smirked as he reached to his right hip and pulled out his own zanpakuto. He held up an ulu, a knife with a short, thick blade parallel to the handle, and with a snap the weapon split into two separate blades so that now he had one in each hand. Gor grinned openly, "My name is Gorune Delbern," he said as his smile got even bigger, "and now good bye!" He yelled as his reiatsu rose to a massive level and brought his arms up, pointing his weapons at Iba, "**Rumble…**" he began, and Iba brought his sword up as he resumed his battle stance.

Suddenly they heard someone yelling from above, "**Killer move: Your time is up Kiiiiick!**" Gildrick yelled as his foot smashed into the side of Gor's face, and sent the much larger arrancar flying again, so that the red head smashed through several more houses. Gil walked over to the now unconscious arrancar and turned to the two soul reapers, who were staring at him, mouths hanging open in shock. Gil bent down and grabbed Gor by the ankle before he waved at them cheerfully, "Well, it's been great, but we've gotta go now. See ya," he called as he vanished, taking Gor with him.

Ikkaku shook his head, "Sonido, huh? Well, nothing you can do about it now, Iba… uh, Iba?" Ikkaku turned to look at the lieutenant, who was now on his knees with his hands up in the air, as if pleading for the arrancars to return.

"Noooo, come back, I finally have a chance to show off, come baaaaaack!"

Ikkaku looked at his friend, rubbing his hand over his scalp, "Sheesh, man, let it go."

**OO**

Isane walked into the Squad Six barracks looking for her fellow lieutenant, Renji, because she had a message to deliver to him. She walked through the hall way and approached the lieutenant's office and knocked softly.

A gruff voice from inside answered, "Come in."

Isane walked into the office to see Renji looking out his window, his attention obviously on something outside. She walked up behind him and he turned to see who it was before he took a step to the side so she could look as well.

What she saw was a somewhat small soul reaper, who she believed was called Rikichi, chasing a hell butterfly around one of the porches surrounding the building. The young man was so involved in his task that he did not notice that the butterfly had flown away from the porch. Rikichi tried to follow but ended up walking off the edge and falling on his face.

Renji held a small timing device, "Two minutes and forty-eight seconds… he's getting better, first time he's tripped though," he said, and from his tone, Isane could tell that this was a fairly regular event. Renji set the timer down on the window sill and turned to face Isane, "So, what did you need, Lieutenant?"

Isane smiled to him and shook his head, "Actually, I just came here to deliver a message from Hanataro," Renji looked up at this, the young medic had been trying to keep him informed on Momo's condition. Seeing the concern on his face Isane smiled reassuringly, "No, it's nothing to worry about. Momo's fine, in fact, she will be transferred to the Fourth Division. And starting tomorrow, Captain Unohana will allow her to have visitors," she said and the smile he gave her more than made up for the trip here.

"Really? That's great," he said excitedly, "Have you told Izuru yet?" He asked, referring to the lieutenant of Squad Three, Izuru Kira. Renji, Izuru and Momo had been friends and classmates when they were going through the soul reaper academy.

Isane nodded, she had run into the blond man on her way here. "Yes, I did, and Hanataro plans to tell Captain Hitsugaya when he sees him today," the tall woman paused for a moment as she thought of something, "Did you ever find Kazuki Koga?" She asked the other lieutenant.

Rikichi poked his head in the window, "Yeah, he came back the night before last. And he's an even bigger jerk now than when he left!" The young soul reaper said.

"Rikichi, weren't you in the middle of something?" Renji asked pointedly and with a yelp Rikichi ran off, presumably to follow that hell butterfly from before. Renji turned back to Isane, "Yeah, he came back around sunset the day before yesterday. But he's been pretty difficult since then, he's always ditching work and I've gotten reports that he has been poking around other divisions, I have no idea where he went today" Renji scratched his head, "he even ditched the daily training session, which is weird because the guy never missed a chance to show off. You know, he isn't seated, but he has the skills necessary to be a third seat, maybe even a lieutenant," Isane eyes opened wide with surprise at this statement and Renji continued, "It's just because he refuses to work with anyone else and is constantly getting into fights with his superiors that he never gets promoted."

Isane almost asked why Koga hadn't tried to go to the Eleventh, it sounded like he would fit in well there, but she decided not to bring it up, since she knew that Renji had been in that squad before he entered the Sixth.

The red- haired lieutenant didn't notice Isane's hesitation and kept talking, "Plus, the night he got back, I asked if he needed to go the Fourth Division, but he refused," Renji looked at directly at her, "I couldn't help but think about what happened with Iemura the other day." Renji turned to look out of the window again and then glanced back at Isane, "I don't know much about the guy, but I do know he's had some tough breaks in his life, and he's all alone. That's one way I've been lucky, I guess. I had Izuru and Momo, and Rukia before them. Maybe all he needs is someone he can call a friend. So, I'm not going to give up on the kid. Not without trying anyway."

Isane smiled at him, "Alright, I understand. I'll ask Mr. Iemura about it when I see him later, maybe that will help you better understand the situation. I should be going now. I have to get back to work. I was just doing a favor for Hanataro," she said as she started to leave the room.

Renji waved at her, "Okay, and you know something? That kid is lucky to have someone like you looking out for him," when she heard this statement Isane blushed slightly, though it faded so quickly that Renji did not notice, "And thanks for telling me about Momo. I'll stop by to see her tomorrow."

Isane nodded before she left, "Very well, goodbye, Lieutenant Abarai," she said as she shut the door.

Renji looked out of the window one last time before he returned to his work, and watched as Rikichi chased the butterfly around with a large butterfly net but only managed to snag another soul reaper, "I'm starting to worry about that kid," Renji said to himself as Rikichi tore the net of the man's head, apologized quickly, and with a loud battle cry started chasing the insect once again.

**OO**

To say the least, Soifon was surprised about the amount of work Hanataro did in one morning, sweeping cleaning, delivering supplies. He would have done almost as much work in that one morning as the average soul reaper did in a whole day, if it weren't for the frequent rest stops he made, and if one were to put aside all of the goofs and mistakes he made as well. But he didn't seem to mind any of this at all. Soifon still didn't know what to think of this aspect of the boy's personality. She didn't know if he simply had the patience of a saint or if he was so simple that he just enjoyed helping others that much. As Soifon watched him try to carry a package almost as big as he was, as well as his medical bag and the bag with the box lunches in it, she decided to lean towards the 'simple' answer.

When it was almost noon, and they had delivered that last package, Hanataro lead Soifon through the woods at the base of Sokyoku Hill until they arrived at a small cave. Standing at the entrance was Captain Hitsugaya and his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, the latter of which rushed forward as soon she saw Hanataro and gave the small healer a big hug, "Yay, Hana's here!It's good to see you," she said as she lifted the small healer off the ground and swung him back and forth, his face trapped firmly in between her generous breasts.

After Hanataro dug himself out of her cleavage he laughed sheepishly and said, "Um, h-hi, Lt. Matsumoto. It's, uh, good to see you too," he said, scratching his head as he continued chuckling, and Soifon noticed a small trickle of blood coming from his nose. She rolled her eyes at him, and to be honest, men in general. She looked back Hanataro when he spoke again, "Oh, Captain Soifon will be joining us for lunch," he said as he lifted up the sack full of lunch boxes.

_So, that's why he had so many,_ Soifon thought as she followed the other three to a small clearing a short distance from the cave. As they each found a place to sit down, Soifon noticed that Matsumoto kept giving her a strange look. After the fifth time Soifon finally said, "Is something the matter, Lieutenant?"

Rangiku squeaked in surprise at being found out before she said, "Well, it's just, you two make a pretty weird couple. That's all," she said, as picked up a few pickled vegetables in her chopsticks.

Hanataro saw Soifon's eye twitch in irritation, so he quickly said, "Uh, we're not a-a couple. Actually, it's a mission I'm on," he said, and explained the situation to the other two.

Rangiku nodded, "Huh, I guess that explains it. Well, you could do a lot worse than Hanataro, Captain. At least he's a cutie, right?" She said and teasingly nudged the small healer's side with her elbow.

"Ah, L-lieutenant!" he said, his face red and his voice distressed. Soifon looked at Hanataro, she wasn't so sure if 'cute' was the right word, 'irritating' might work better.

Throughout the meal, Hanataro chattered ceaselessly, much like when he had been taking care of Hinamori. Just random bits of news and, in Rangiku case, as much gossip as the healer could manage.

When Hanataro had first come here, it had been just a few days before Ichigo had woken up after his fight with Aizen. At that time he had been accompanying Captain Unohana, who had decided to check up on Hitsugaya and Rangiku. These two had suffered some of the most painful emotional trauma of all who fought in the fake Karakura town. Hanataro had been surprised at first to see how upbeat Rangiku seemed, considering what had happened with her childhood friend, Gin Ichimaru. The former captain had betrayed her and the Soul Society in order to get revenge against Aizen for her.

It was only after several days of bringing the two members of Squad Ten lunch, after the lieutenant had become used to Hanataro being there and she let her guard down slightly, that he realized that she was forcing herself to act in her usual manner, as if nothing was wrong.

And as for Captain Hitsugaya's troubles… Hanataro shook his head, he didn't have a clue what someone like him could hope to do, for either of them. But the young healer still felt he had to try.

After they finished eating and Soifon and Hanataro were ready to get going, Hanataro turned to Hitsugaya "Oh, one more thing, about Lt. Hinamori," at the mention of Momo's name, both Rangiku and Hitsugaya looked at him with concerned expressions, "Both Captains Unohana and Kurotsuchi feel that she is out of danger, and that she can be moved to the Fourth division. Captain Unohana will let her have visitors starting tomorrow," Hanataro said, a big smile on his face.

"That's great!" Rangiku said, and turned to see what her captain's reaction was, and for the first time since the battle, Hitsugaya let a small smile cross his face.

The silver haired boy paid Hanataro and Soifon a simple farewell, and led Rangiku back to the Tenth Division, so they could get back to work. And Soifon suggested that Hanataro do the same.

As they left the forest, Soifon looked at Hanataro, and she saw the contentment on the boy's face simply from making Hitsugaya smile. It was then that Soifon decided that the young healer really did like helping people that much._Actually,_ she thought, _that kind of thing suits him rather well._

**OO**

Gor woke up to find that he was being dragged through the air by Gil. The blond arrancar was running through the air over the forest on the outskirts of the Rukongai, holding Gor by the ankle. Though they were in the sky, Gil was still low enough that Gor's face smashed into every tree they passed.

"Hey, what do you think you're do-oof!" The large arrancar began but all he got was a mouthful of pine needles.

"Hey, hey! You're awake. Good, you're pretty heavy," Gil said as he released Gor's leg.

Gor glared at the thin man as he stood up, "Why'd you mess with the fight? I was just about to crush that Sunglasses freak," he said anger heavy on every word.

Gil tapped his eye grill and clicked his tongue at his companion, "Well, I don't know what to tell you Gorry, your time was up."

"Yeah, but…" Gor began.

"And besides, it's too soon to show them your Resurreccion, it's best to keep that as a secret weapon," Gil said and could tell by the big man's expression that he liked the idea of being a 'secret weapon'. "Plus, Beck said it's best if we let them know we're organized, and me showing up helps show them that. If they focus all their energy on an outside threat, us, that will make it all the easier for our buddy Koga on the inside. Got it?" Gil asked

"Uh, yeah, sure," Gor lied. He had never been one for thinking ahead, he would just leave that stuff to Beck and Ciel.

Gil looked ahead and saw a Garganta open up ahead of them, "Hey, hey! What's that?" He asked, pointing.

Gor looked at him as if the blond was an idiot, and he did make it hard to tell at times, "That's a Garganta, Stupid."

Gil gave the big arrancar an annoyed look, "I meant: Who's opening it?"

"Oh… It's Ciel… and that Shinosuke guy is with her," Gor said matter-of-factly.

Gil shook his head. Gor may be stubborn and violent, but there were very few that were as skilled at sensing spiritual pressure as he was. Then Gil watched as the Garganta closed again, "She must be going to refill, huh? Well, that's to be expected. Anyway, let's get back home," he said as he continued on his way to the cave with Gor close behind.

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><p><strong>Credits<strong>

Special thanks to:

Nasha Rei-Kun: I loved your review so much, it was a great for whenever I needed a pick me up.

FlyingMintBunny579: Well, I still don't need that coffin, thank you. Though I must have really made you wonder this time, huh?

Imperialguardsmen: Thank you for the review and thank you again for checking up on me when I didn't review for so long.

Thank you to anyone who put this story on their favorites or story alerts, I appreciate it.

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><p><strong>Preview<strong>

**Rin**: Wow, what is this thing?

**Hanataro**: I think they call it a 'fan fiction'.

**Rin**: Well, what are they for?

**Hanataro**: Um, I don't really know, actually.

**Rikichi**: It's when obsessed girls put all sorts of guys together in weird pairings and make them do all kinds of dirty things.

**Hanataro & Rin**: WHAT!

**Rikichi**: Well, that's what most of them do anyway.

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><p><strong>True Stories from the World of the Living<strong>

Ichigo was sitting in his class room, rubbing his neck, "Stupid old man," he muttered under his breath. He looked up when he saw Chizuru Honjo come stomping up to him. She leaned in close to him, her face inches from his. Ichigo looked at her nervously for several moments before he asked, "Uh, Chizuru? What are you doing?"

Chizuru gave him a disgusted look, "Back with that weirdness from before, I forgot to tell you thank you, not only did you save me, but you also saved my Hime," she said, her face extremely serious.

Ichigo tried to smile, "Ah, you're my friends, you don't need to thank m-" he started to say, but was cut off when the red haired girl slammed her hands down on his desk causing Ichigo to start to sweat nervously.

Chizuru glared at him, making the orange haired boy, "Yes, I do. If I don't thank you properly for saving my Hime, I won't be able to live with myself. That being the case I have to do something special, I'm sorry Hime!" she said and began to lean even closer to Ichigo, her lips puckered up as much as she could manage.

Ichigo leaned so far back in his chair that he fell over backwards. He rolled over and jumped up to his feet, a horrified expression on his face, "W-what do you think you're doing, Chizuru?" He asked as he backed away from her, looking back and forth rapidly, as if trying to find some kind of escape route.

Chizuru adjusted her glasses and then put her hands on her hips in a huff, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to give you a thank you. I don't like this anymore than you do, but it's something that has to be done," she took a few steps closer to Ichigo, and to the substitute soul reaper, she looked scarier than any hollow or arrancar he has ever faced.

Ichigo took a few steps back and then he did what most men would do in his situation, he turned and ran like a scared little girl. But Chizuru was soon hot on his trail, "Get away from me!" he screamed over his shoulders as they ran through the halls of the school.

At that moment Keigo Asano and Mizuiro Kojima were just on their way to class. When he saw Ichigo heading his way, Keigo smiled hugely, and started running towards his friend, "Good morning Ichi-gaaaaah!" He was cut off Ichigo ran him over.

"Out of my way!" He yelled at them.

"Shouldn't you said that _before_ you ran someone over?" Mizuiro asked, but at that moment Chizuru ran through, trampling directly over Keigo's prone form.

"Come back here and take it like a man, Ichigo!" Chizuru yelled at her quarry.

"Never!"

Mizuiro leaned down next to Keigo, "Well, you don't see that every day, huh?" He asked to which Keigo could only groan.

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><p>Wow, I'm finally done. Thank you all for your patience. I'm very sorry for the wait. My computer broke, and we only just got it fixed. Anyway, this is just a taste of Hanataro's day, please wait for part two. I will do my best, but I will not get your hopes up with promises I may not be able to keep. Please wish me luck and continue to support me. And remember, read and review. Well, here goes.<p>

Sincerely,

Justagoodguy, a guy whose computer hates him.


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